


The Things You Say

by SecretMaker



Series: Poly Karasuno Fics [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Multi, Poly Karasuno, Rating May Change, things you said
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-01-30 10:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 21,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12651384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretMaker/pseuds/SecretMaker
Summary: A collection of prompts starting "Things you said when..."Poly Karasuno





	1. Things You Said at One AM

“What are you still doing up?” Asahi jumped at the sound of a voice from the other side of the room. He turned away from his computer screen full of designs and plans that had started to blur together, rubbing at his tired eyes as he went. Kinoshita was standing in the doorway, one hip leaning against the frame and his arms crossed over his chest.

 

“Hisashi,” Asahi said with a yawn. “I could ask you the same question.”

 

“I got up for a drink and saw your light still on,” Kinoshita said. “Now, what are you still doing up?”

 

“I just have a little more to go over before tomorrow’s board meeting,” Asahi said, half-turning back to his computer screen.

 

“Asahi, it’s one in the morning,” Kinoshita said. Asahi blinked in surprise, looking at the clock on the desk. Sure enough, it was two minutes past one. “You have to sleep or you’ll be useless at that meeting tomorrow.”

 

“Okay, okay,” Asahi said, rubbing his face. “Let me just make a couple of notes here, so I don’t lose all my progress, and then I’ll come to bed.”

 

“You better,” mumbled Kinoshita. “I have you claimed for spooning tonight, and I’m missing out on prime cuddling time right now.”

 

“Sorry,” said Asahi, not bothering to point out that he was supposed to have a say in the matter of who he spooned each night. It was a longstanding battle that Asahi had never come close to winning. There was a sound behind him and Asahi turned, this time to see Kinoshita settling onto the couch. “What are you doing?” he asked.

 

“Waiting for you,” Kinoshita answered. “I don’t trust you not to just stay up and keep working.”

 

“Rude,” Asahi commented, but he was smiling. “You don’t have to wait up for me, you know.”

 

“I know,” said Kinoshita, pulling his feet up under him. “You’re good company.” Asahi smiled and turned back to his work with a stifled yawn.

 

It was nearly an hour later when Asahi finally finished making all his notes and saving his progress. He had expected Kinoshita to scold him much earlier, but Kinoshita had been strangely silent. Asahi spun around in his desk chair to find out why.

 

Kinoshita was curled on the couch, his toes poking out of the bottoms of his pajama pants and his hands curled up near his face. He breathed deeply, evenly, his face smooth with sleep. Asahi smiled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He hadn’t meant to be such bad company.

 

Asahi stood and padded quietly over to the couch, stooping to wrap his arms around Kinoshita’s sleeping form. Kinoshita stirred softly, wrapping the fingers of one hand up in Asahi’s shirt and nuzzling into his shoulder.

 

“’Sahi?” he mumbled. Asahi shushed him gently.

 

“Go back to sleep,” he murmured. “I’ll carry you to bed.”

 

“Ooh, promise?” Kinoshita asked. Asahi smiled, craning his head down to plant a kiss on Kinoshita’s forehead.”

 

“I promise.”


	2. Things You Said Through Your Teeth

“You absolute bastard,” spat Nishinoya, his voice dripping with venom. It took every ounce of his years of practice for Kei not to recoil physically from the murderous look in his eyes. Instead, he simply readjusted his glasses and leveled Nishinoya with an unimpressed look.

 

“Park Place. That’s fifteen hundred, please,” he said simply. Nishinoya glared at him for a moment longer, then threw the last of his money at Kei.

 

“This game’s stupid,” he muttered. Tanaka laughed and threw his arm around Nishinoya’s shoulder.

 

“Welcome to the bankrupt club,” he crowed. “It’s okay. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him lose.”

 

“He’s lost to me,” said Yamaguchi, sweet as could be. “And to Kiyoko.”

 

“That’s because the two of you are vicious,” Kei said. “You don’t play fair.”

 

“This coming from you,” huffed Nishinoya. Kei shrugged and picked up the dice, looking around the board. He still had Ennoshita to ruin, and then the game would be his.

 

“Don’t even think about it,” said Ennoshita without even opening his eyes.

 

“Why do we even have this game,” muttered Nishinoya. Kei rolled and moved his token around to the only unowned railroad. He grinned and tossed the appropriate amount of money into the bank, picking up the card for himself.

 

“Chikara, I’ll trade you the mortgage on your monopoly for those other two railroads,” said Kei. Ennoshita cracked open an eye, considering. He sighed and pulled the two railroad cards out of his pile and handed them over to Kei. Kei put the money for Ennoshita’s mortgage into the bank and handed the dice over.

 

“This is the worst game ever,” Ennoshita said as he rolled, and landed on the go to jail space. “Oh, thank God.”

 

“We could just stop this right here and now,” Kei said.

 

“Do I even want to know what you want in exchange for that?” Ennoshita asked.

 

“Just my pick at movie night this week,” Kei replied.

 

“Don’t do it, Chika!” shouted Nishinoya. “He’ll make us watch more Land Before Time movies!”

 

“This is between Chikara and me,” said Kei. Ennoshita considered him seriously.

 

“Deal,” he said, and Nishinoya and Tanaka both wailed in despair. “But as the winner, you get to clean up the board.” He winked at Nishinoya, who immediately reached forward and flipped the board into the air. Paper money and tin tokens went flying in every direction, flittering down like snowflakes or flower petals on a springtime breeze. Kei watched Nishinoya cackle at the carnage, feeling strangely calm.

 

“Tsukki, you’ve got that scary look on your face,” said Yamaguchi, laughter and anticipation tinging his voice.

 

“What look?” asked Kei innocently. “I was just wondering what Suga will think when he finds out Yuu threw his favorite game all over the living room. Nishinoya went still, turning slowly to stare at Kei.

 

“You wouldn’t,” he hissed.

 

“Oh, but I would,” Kei said. “In fact, I think I’ll go find him now.”

 

“All right, fine! Tattle tale.” Nishinoya muttered something under his breath as he got up on his knees and started to pick up the little slips of paper. Kei chuckled under his breath, then sat upright to help. He wasn’t entirely heartless, after all, and the rules did say the winner had to clean up the board.

 

When all the pieces were picked up and put away and the living room was clear of witnesses, Kei hooked an arm around Nishinoya from behind and drew him close.

 

“What’s up?” Nishinoya asked.

 

“I was just seeing if you were still stewing in your defeat,” Kei said casually, like he didn’t really care about the answer. Nishinoya smiled, layering his hands on top of Kei’s.

 

“I’m not mad at you,” he said. “Not really. It’s fun to pretend to be with a game like that, but I don’t blame you or anything.”

 

Kei didn’t respond to that, didn’t let his relief show on his face. He nuzzled his nose into Nishinoya’s hair, taking in the scent of his green apple shampoo and the solid warmth of him in Kei’s arms. He didn’t know how Nishinoya always knew when he needed reassurance, but somehow he always did. Somehow, he always knew exactly what to say.

 

“Next time I’ll kick your ass!” Nishinoya crowed, tugging himself out of Kei’s arms to shake a fist at him. Kei smirked, crossing his arms and cocking a hip.

 

“Is that so?” he asked.

 

“Yeah it is!” Nishinoya yelled. “Me an’ Ryuu are gonna team up against you and then you’ll be sorry!”

 

“I look forward to it,” Kei said, and truly, he really did. Any time he spent with his lovers was time well spent, but if it involved crushing their hopes and dreams in a game of Monopoly, well. It just made it a better day to be Kei.


	3. Things You Said Too Quietly

The morning was quiet the day after Daichi and Asahi’s birthday party. Most of the house was still in bed, sleeping off the hangover that was sure to leave many of them incapacitated until the next day at least. Tanaka was reading quietly on the couch with Tsukishima’s head in his lap, but they were the only others awake when Chikara wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water. He stood by the kitchen sink, looking at the sunrise through the kitchen window and wondering what he would do with his day. He didn’t like holidays much, didn’t like the way they always felt empty and devoid of productivity. Though, the family would probably do something all together, like visit a shrine or walk through the park. It would depend on Asahi and his whims, and they usually tended toward the romantic. Daichi would complain, claiming that his birthday still counted too, and then when given his say in the matter he would want to do the exact same thing. It happened that way every year.

 

He was so deep in his own musings that he didn’t realize he had company until Kiyoko turned on the faucet and filled up her own glass.

 

“Good morning,” she said quietly. He smiled, admiring the way the dawn light filtered through the window and made her into something closer to goddess than human.

 

“Good morning,” he replied. She smiled at him like he was the only thing in the world and she wanted to dedicate her entire being to him. He smiled back, stepping forward to wrap his arms around her. She set her glass on the counter and returned the embrace, leaning her head onto his shoulder and sighing in contentment.

 

“I love you so much,” Chikara whispered. “If I could, I would pull down every star from the sky and pile them at your feet in offering. I would dedicate my very soul to you if you asked me to. I would tear the world apart if I thought for one moment it would make you smile.”

 

“What?” Kiyoko hummed, turning her head to look up at him, cheek still pressed to his shoulder. “I didn’t hear that.”

 

He smiled at her, taking a strand of hair between his fingers. It flowed like black silk, soft and beautiful. It was getting long again, and soon she would cut it back to her shoulders, but for now Chikara enjoyed the way it spilled over her collar bones and down over the shirt she had clearly stolen from Suga. The light from the window painted her in pinks and golds, her naturally pale complexion turning into a masterpiece of a view, like an old painting in a museum by some long-dead master. Chikara admired her. Chikara worshiped her. Chikara had meant every word he had said to her.

 

“Nothing important,” he said, and she smiled at him. Chikara would do anything for that smile, anything at all. So in the gathering light of a new year, he simply enjoyed it.


	4. Things You Said Over the Phone

Daichi listened to the dull ringing of the phone as he waited for someone to pick up on the other line. It had been a long day of board meetings and budget meetings and design meetings and meetings and meetings and _meetings_ and Daichi was tired. He just wanted to talk to his family and go to bed.

 

“Hello?” Daichi had called Suga’s phone, but he wasn’t surprised when Yamaguchi picked up.

 

“Hey, Tadashi,” he said.

 

“Daichi!” cried Yamaguchi,a s though he hadn’t known who had been calling. “It’s so good to hear from you!”

 

“You heard from me on my lunch break,” laughed Daichi.

 

“Still.”

 

Daichi smiled. “Still,” he agreed. “How was your day?”

 

“Not bad,” said Yamaguchi, and over the phone line Daichi could hear him moving through the house. “Hisashi made dinner, so it was to die for as always. Oh, and Tsukki lost at that new online game he’s been playing, so he pouted in my lap for like an hour, so that was great. How about you?”

 

“Boring,” Daichi said. “If I have to look at the designs for the ladies’ bathroom on the second floor one more time I think I’m going to crumple it up and throw it in the trash.”

 

“That bad?” Yamaguchi asked.

 

“We went over it six times today,” Daichi said. “The budgeters wanted to downgrade the material, the owner wanted to upgrade it, the board wanted it in copper instead of grey, and I swear I just don’t care anymore, Tadashi.”

 

“Sounds rough,” chuckled Yamaguchi. “But I’m sure you’ll get it figured out. You’re a great architect, Daichi.”

 

“Thanks.” Daichi lay back on the bed and let the butterflies in his stomach overwhelm him for a moment. “How is everyone?”

 

“Do you want to talk to someone?” Yamaguchi asked. “I have Hitoka and Ryuu here, and I think I can find Koushi and Asahi on pretty quick notice.”

 

“Where is everyone else?” Daichi asked.

 

“Out on a walk. Shouyou wanted to play a pickup game so they went to the park.”

 

“You didn’t go with them?” Yamaguchi laughed.

 

“I was kind of caught up making out with Hitoka,” he said. Daichi heard a scandalized gasp and a dull smacking noise, and Yamaguchi laughed harder. “Here,” he said, “she wants to talk to you.”

 

There was a rustling noise like someone wrestling the phone away from Yamaguchi, and before Daichi could say a word, Yachi shouted, “We were doing no such thing!”

 

“Hitoka, it’s okay if you were,” laughed Daichi. “He is your boyfriend. It’s allowed.”

 

“But we weren’t!” she cried. “We were watching a documentary and cuddling!”

 

“I believe you,” Daichi said, appeasing. Yachi huffed.

 

“Good,” she said. “Now, when are you coming home?”

 

Daichi’s heart sank to his toes. It had been the question he’d been dreading since he had first punched Suga’s number into his phone. He sighed. “Another week,” he said quietly.

 

“I miss you,” she said.

 

“I know. I miss you too. But this project is almost over, and then I’ll be home, and it’ll be a couple of months before I’ll have to leave again.” Yachi sniffled delicately.

 

“Promise?” she asked. Daichi bit back another sigh and glanced at his bag, still half-packed like he had never intended to stay as long as he had. Really, a part of him never had.

 

“I promise,” he said.

 

“I love you,” she said softly. “Ryuu wants to talk to you.”

 

“I love you too,” said Daichi, trying to gather his cheer.

 

“Daichi-san!” crowed Tanaka, and Daichi smiled.

 

“Hello, Ryuu,” he said happily as he could.


	5. Things You Didn't Say At All

Afternoon light streamed through the windows in the living room, illuminating the clutter and knick knacks of fourteen people living in one house. The clock on the wall ticked quietly, almost unheard over the music that played from the radio on the bookshelf. In the middle of the floor, a young man in the prime of his glory gasped and jumped up as the song changed.

Hinata was so beautiful. He danced along with the radio in his boxers and one of Tsukishima’s sweaters, and Ryuunosuke counted the ways he was incredible. The way he moved his body like it was music itself, art made alive. The way the sunlight glinted in his hair and his eyes. The way his smile was a new dawn whenever it burst through the room. Ryuunosuke watched him, amazed and silent.

“Ryuu?” Hinata asked, stopping his dancing. “If it’s too loud, I can turn it down?”

Ryuunosuke only smiled and shook his head. Hinata smiled and held out his hands. Ryuunosuke took them and let himself be drawn into a dance. Hinata put Ryuunosuke’s hands on his hips and wrapped his own around Ryuunosuke’s neck, swaying to the beat. He twisted around until his back was pressed to Ryuunosuke’s front, bending down in a sinuous curve before climbing back up in a display of musculature and flexibility. Ryuunosuke spun him back around and bent down to seal their lips together.

Hinata never stopped moving through the kiss, but now instead of dancing he was running his hands over Ryuunosuke’s body. He gripped Ryuunosuke’s shoulders, dragging his fingers up his neck and down his chest. He clawed at Ryuunosuke’s back. He rucked up Ryuunosuke’s shirt and groped at his abdomen. He moaned into the kiss.

Ryuunosuke’s skin was on fire, alight with adoration and the burning trails left by Hinata’s touch. He closed his eyes and kissed Hinata harder, twining their tongues together and gripping his skinny hips for dear life. Hinata made a small noise and moved closer, pressing his entire torso flush against Ryuunosuke’s. He reached up to wrap one hand around Ryuunosuke’s neck, the other around the back of his head, tugging him down until all at once he lost his balance and they both went down. Ryuunosuke barely paused to make sure Hinata was okay before he went back to kissing him.

“Ryuu,” whispered Hinata, tearing his mouth away to nip at Ryuunosuke’s jaw. “Ryuu,” and again, “Ryuu.”

“Shouyou,” replied Ryuunosuke, reaching up to hold Hinata still so he could kiss him properly again.

He had no idea how long they were making out on the floor, but by the time someone clearing their throat drew him away, the song had long since changed to a commercial for motor oil. Ryuunosuke looked up sheepishly to see Ennoshita standing in the doorway.

“And just what are you two up to?” he asked, laughter sparkling in his voice. Ryuunosuke looked back down at Hinata, who burst out laughing. Ryuunosuke chuckled and looked back at Ennoshita, who raised an eyebrow.

“We were dancing,” Ryuunosuke explained, and Ennoshita laughed.

“Dancing,” he repeated. Ryuunosuke nodded. “Well, in that case, mind if I cut in?”


	6. Things You Said Under the Stars and In the Grass

Kazuhito lay on the front yard of their brand new house and closed his eyes. It had been a long day of moving vans and boxes and arguments, but now that it was over he couldn’t believe he was here.

 

A house. A real-life actual house. Before, they had shared a collection of apartments spread across three different buildings, and nights when they could all sleep under the same roof had been rare. But now they had a house, one with a master bedroom big enough for all of them. It was custom-built, thanks to Daichi’s connections, exactly to their specifications. Tonight, Kazuhito would sleep with all thirteen of his lovers.

 

“What are you doing out here?” Kazuhito opened his eyes at the sound of Yachi’s voice, a smile making its way across his face. He sat up and patted the grass beside him, an invitation she took without a word.

 

“Just enjoying the view,” he said, gesturing skyward. This far outside of town, there were thousands of them. She hummed and leaned into his side.

 

“They’re beautiful,” she said. He looked down at her and smiled.

 

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Absolutely stunning.”

 

“That was sappy,” she scolded, smacking him on the arm.

 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m just really happy. We have a house now, a house for all of us. I never thought this would actually happen.”

 

“I know what you mean,” she said. “It feels like it’s all a dream and I’ll wake up and it’ll all be gone.”

 

“If this is a dream,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist and looking up at the stars, “then it’s a good dream.” She didn’t call him out on his sappiness this time, just snuggled closer to him and sighed happily.

 

Kiyoko found them there nearly an hour later, when Yachi had fallen asleep in Kazuhito’s arms. She smiled down at them, sweet and perfect in the starlight.

 

“I was going to come inside in a minute,” he said, and she laughed, clearly not believing him. She settled down at his side, leaning her head against his shoulder.

 

“We just got to your office,” she said. “Hisashi and Tadashi wanted to know if you had any input on the decoration.”

 

“I would go in and help, but, well.” He gestured to Yachi in his arms. She smiled, reaching over to brush Yachi’s bangs out of her face.

 

“It’s understandable,” she said. It was quiet for a long moment, just the three of them and the stars and the sound of activity in the house behind them. Hinata and Tsukishima came spilling out onto the lawn, then ran around to the back of the house and out of sight. Kiyoko stirred, looking down at Yachi. “We should take her inside, before either of you catches a cold.”

 

Kazuhito nodded, scooping Yachi more firmly into his arms. He stood with her and gestured for Kiyoko to go ahead of them. He followed her into their brand new house, and into their brand new life.


	7. Things You Said While We Were Driving

The road was a world of its own, dark and silent. The only sound was the hum of the engine and the noise of tires meeting road. Hisashi sat in the passenger seat, watching as the moon raced them toward their destination. It had been a long trip to one of Kageyama’s games and now they were on their way home, Suga driving the fifteen-passenger van through the silent Miyagi back roads. Back to the house they had built together, back to the bickering and the elbowing each other for space, back to the loud, messy, wonderful thing they called their life. Hisashi sighed quietly, wondering if it was worth it to break the silence.

 

“I know that sigh,” Suga said quietly. They were the only two left awake, so Hisashi wasn’t surprised he had heard him. “What’s up?”

 

“Sometimes I feel like I just don’t fit in.” It was an old insecurity, but it was one that Hisashi had never shared with anyone before. But something about the darkness of the world around them, the road illuminated by the headlights, the snoring of Tanaka in the seat behind Hisashi and sleepy breathing of all the others, and Suga’s quiet form in the driver’s seat made him feel brave. Suga glanced at him once, then turned back to the road.

 

“Is that something we’ve done, or something in your own head?” he asked. Hisashi thought about it.

 

“It’s something I’ve done,” he said. “I haven’t felt right being a part of this family, not since I left during my first year.”

 

“Some day you’re going to have to forgive yourself for that,” Suga said. “And some day you’ll realize you’re just as integral to this family as anyone else. We wouldn’t be whole without you, Hisashi. But I understand where you’re coming from. And I promise we’ll do whatever we can to make sure you don’t feel like that in the future.”

 

It was a simple reassurance, but it made Hisashi’s heart feel lighter. He watched the road appearing out of the darkness ahead of them and felt for the first time like he was headed toward something real.

 

“I love you, you know,” Suga said softly. “Separately from the general love I feel for the whole family. I love you, individually, for who you are. Nothing you do, nothing you feel could ever change that.”

 

“I know,” Hisashi said. “I know that each of you is with me because you want to be. It’s just, we’re a family of shooting stars, and sometimes I feel like I’m just a satellite. Just an extra light in a sky full of brighter things.”

 

“Then how about this,” Suga said, “next weekend you and I will go out where all the city lights will stop drowning out the stars, and I’ll make you see just how bright you shine. Just you and me and the stars. Does that sound good to you?”

 

“Sounds romantic,” Hisashi laughed.

 

“Hey, I can be romantic,” Suga huffed.

 

“I know you can,” Hisashi said. “And yeah, that sounds great.”

 

They lapsed into silence and Hisashi looked back at the moon, looking forward to the return home at last.


	8. Things You Said When You Were Crying

Tobio came upon her slumped over the table, a bottle of sake fisted in one hand and Suga’s snoring head under the other. She sniffled, looking up at him with reddened, watery eyes.

 

“Are you okay?” he asked, sitting down beside her. She slumped sideways, her thick black hair falling over her face.

 

“I’m not okay,” she sobbed. “I’ll never be okay again.” Tobio patted her awkwardly.

 

“I’m not sure what to do with crying people,” he admitted. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

 

“Daichi!” she wailed.

 

Tobio blinked. “What did Daichi do?” he asked dumbly. Kiyoko sniffled.

 

“Daichi’s so pretty!” she cried. “Why is he so pretty?” Tobio couldn’t help it. He tried to keep a straight face, to take her seriously, but he found himself laughing instead. “’S not funny,” Kiyoko slurred.

 

“No, I agree,” he said seriously. “Daichi is very pretty.”

 

“It’s a problem,” Kiyoko said. “A serious problem.”

 

“It is,” Tobio agreed. She looked up at him, her eyes filling with fresh tears.

 

“Oh no,” she whispered.

 

“What?”

 

“You’re pretty too!” Tobio threw his head back and laughed, ignoring her wails of despair and the fact that half the house was asleep already. After a moment, there was a thump and the sound of angry footsteps coming down the stairs and Tobio fell silent.

 

“What is going on here?” Tsukishima hissed, darting around the doorway to glare at Tobio. Tobio kept a straight face for all of half a second before he burst out laughing again. “What is he laughing at?” Tsukishima demanded.

 

“Everyone’s so pretty,” Kiyoko wailed, and Tobio laughed harder.

 

“Who’s pretty?” Tsukishima asked. Tobio spotted the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.

 

“Daichi!” shouted Kiyoko. “He’s like, so pretty. Look at him!”

 

“Where is he?” Tsukishima asked.

 

“Under the table, I think. He lives there sometimes.” Tobio bent over and sure enough, there was Daichi sprawled under the far end of the table.

 

“We should probably get him out of there,” he said.

 

“Oh no,” Tsukishima said. “He chose to drink with these two. He knew what he was getting himself into. But tell me, Kiyoko,” he said, pulling up a chair next to Tobio, “who else is pretty?”

 

“Everyone’s pretty,” Kiyoko slurred.

 

“Is Hitoka pretty?” Tsukishima asked.

 

“Hitoka’s the prettiest!” Kiyoko yelled. “She’s so tiny, and her face is all buttony and her eyes are all big and brown and- and-”

 

“How about Tobio here?” Tsukishima asked, wrapping an arm around Tobio’s shoulder.

 

“Tobio’s the prettiest,” Kiyoko said.

 

“I thought Hitoka was the prettiest,” Tsukishima laughed.

 

“Hitoka is the most prettiest. Tobio is the prettiest after her. And then Tadashi, he’s the prettiest too.” Tsukishima nodded sagely.

 

“I see,” he said. “Kiyoko, what I’m about to tell you may blow your mind. Are you ready for it?”

 

“I don’t know, Kei,” she said seriously. “I’m a little tipsy. Just a little, though, so it should be fine.”

 

“Are you sure?” Tobio asked, not sure what Tsukishima was about to get up to. Kiyoko nodded firmly.

 

“Posi- positi- positively,” she stuttered. Tsukishima leaned forward.

 

“You’re the prettiest, too,” he said. Kiyoko stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, then burst into tears.


	9. Things You Said When I Was Crying

The house was quiet when Koushi came home, but he had expected that. Most of the family was supposed to be out today, at work or school or running errands. Koushi figured he was the first one home, until he went to take his shoes off and found someone else’s already lined up neatly in the genkan.

 

“Hello?” Koushi called softly, stepping into the living room. Finding a single person in this house could be like finding a needle in a haystack at times. Koushi hoped he would find them in the living room or the kitchen, the main congregation areas of the house, but he had no such luck. He decided to check the main bedroom first, padding up the stairs quietly.

 

There was no one in the main bedroom, or in either of the two spare bedrooms next to it. Kinoshita, Narita, and Tadashi’s office was empty, along with Daichi and Tsukishima’s. Asahi and Kiyoko’s office door was closed, so Koushi didn’t bother looking in there. That left the last spare bedroom.

 

As Koushi approached it, he could hear quiet sniffling from the other side of the mostly-shut door. He pushed it open gently to find Yamaguchi sitting on the floor in front of the bed, his knees curled to his chest and his face buried in his arms. Yamaguchi looked up at him with tear-streaked eyes.

 

“Koushi,” he croaked. Koushi sat down beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, making a small, soothing noise. Yamaguchi slumped into his side with a sob that broke Koushi’s heart.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Koushi asked. Yamaguchi nodded. “What happened?”

 

“We lost a litter,” he said. “This mother cat came in pregnant, and all the kittens were so small, smaller than normal. And then the mother just abandoned them, so we tried to put them with a surrogate mother, but even though she fed them and kept them warm, they just died. We couldn’t save them. I couldn’t save them.” Yamaguchi dissolved into tears, throwing his arms around Koushi’s neck and sobbing into his shoulder.

 

“Oh, Tadashi,” Koushi murmured, rubbing his back. “I’m so sorry, love. I wish I could make this better for you.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Yamaguchi said. “It’s so stupid to get worked up over this.”

 

“It’s not stupid,” Koushi said. “It’s your job, it’s your world. And it’s a big deal, Tadashi. It’s perfectly normal to be upset about things like this.”

 

“I just feel so useless,” Yamaguchi said.

 

“I’m sorry,” Koushi said. They sat silently for a long time, just taking in one another’s company. Koushi wasn’t sure how long they sat there before the door opened and Hinata and Asahi’s voices filtered up the stairs. Koushi picked his head up and kissed Yamaguchi on the head. “You okay for company, or should I close the door?”

 

“I’m okay,” Yamaguchi said. Koushi nodded.

 

“Let’s just let them find us,” he said. Yamaguchi nodded and together they enjoyed a few moments’ peace.


	10. Things You Said That Made Me Feel Like Shit

Kei had said a lot of shitty things in his life, he knew. There were words against class mates, words against teammates, words against his brother, even words against Yamaguchi, his only real friend in the world. But nothing, _nothing,_ gave him the satisfaction quite like watching the way Kageyama’s eyes widened in horror, then shut down entirely.

 

“Why the long face, King?” he asked, throwing an arm around Kageyama’s shoulder and grinning cruelly at him.

 

“Don’t call me that,” Kageyama muttered, but he knew by now that Kei wouldn’t listen.

 

“Why not, King?” asked Kei. “Aren’t you proud of your title? Aren’t you proud of the way you reign on high above all us mere commoners? Don’t you revel in your status?”

 

“Come on, Tsukishima, leave him alone,” said Hinata, but it was half-hearted at best. Kei had too many emotions swirling around his chest, and this was the only way he knew how to deal with them.

 

“Butt out, pipsqueak,” he snapped. “I’m talking to the King. Or, at least, I would, if he had the time to spare for someone as lowly as you or I.”

 

“Stop,” Kageyama whispered, his voice hoarse.

 

“What was that, Your Majesty?” snipped Kei.

 

“I said, stop,” Kageyama said, barely louder than before. “Please.”

 

“No, I don’t think I will. After all, we all know it’s what you deserve. To be the King of the Court, forever and ever.” Kei watched the tears gather in Kageyama’s eyes before he looked away, and his heart sank, though his smirk never did. He hated himself for the things he said, but that never stopped him from saying them. “What’s wrong, King? Did I strike a nerve?”

 

Kageyama shouldered his way out of Kei’s grip, and Kei woke with a start. It took him a moment to come to terms with his surroundings, in one of the smaller bedrooms of the house. He was sick, so the family had confined him there no matter how much he whined and begged for cuddles. He wasn’t in high school anymore, hadn’t been for years. He was okay.

 

The door was open, Kei realized with a start, someone standing in the rectangle of light cast from the hallway. Kei squinted at them, feeling around the tabletop with one hand for his glasses. The figure saw him stirring and moved from their place, coming closer.

 

It was Kageyama, a medical mask over his face and concern dancing in his eyes. Kei saw him and promptly burst into tears.

 

“What’s wrong?” Kageyama asked, climbing onto the bed and pulling Kei into his arms. Kei let himself be held.

 

“I’m so sorry,” he sobbed, realizing it was the first time he had ever apologized for this. “I treated you like shit when we were kids. I’m so sorry, Tobio, I never should’ve said the things I did-”

 

“Oh, Kei,” laughed Kageyama. Kei fell silent, listening in awe. “I forgave you for that years ago, dumbass.”

 

“Why though?” Kei asked. “It was horrible of me.”

 

“Because it was your way of dealing with something that none of us understood,” Kageyama said. “We all did shitty things back then. But you make up for it every day, by loving me and letting me love you in return.”

 

“Stay with me?” it was a small, quiet request, one Kei was sure would be denied. But Kageyama merely drew back the covers and snuggled in beside Kei, closing his eyes and leaning his head on Kei’s shoulder.

 

Kei slept much better after that.


	11. Things You Said When You Were Drunk

“You are going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow morning,” Daichi said, smiling. He had his chin on his hand and his elbow on the table, watching Suga mix drinks for himself and a few of the others. Suga stuck his tongue out and continued pouring raspberry-flavored vodka into his cup. “Okay, but I reserve my I-told-you-so rights.”

 

“Why are you such a party pooper?” Suga asked. “Look at you, drinking sake like an old man. When did you become an old man, Daichi?”

 

“Third year,” Daichi replied. “When I suddenly ended up with eleven boyfriends and two girlfriends. Same thing happened to you, you know.” He leaned closer to whisper, “That’s why you went prematurely grey.”

 

“Shut up,” Suga laughed, nearly spilling the vodka. Yamaguchi came wandering into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around Daichi’s neck and hanging there like a particularly heavy monkey. Daichi grunted, wrapping an arm around Yamaguchi’s waist to help prop him up.

 

“Hey, handsome,” Yamaguchi said, his words a little soft around the edges.

 

“Hey yourself,” Daichi said.

 

“You look good in those pants,” Yamaguchi said. “But you’d look better in nothing at all.”

 

“Babe, I’m not having sex with you while you’re this drunk,” Daichi laughed. Yamaguchi pouted, hanging heavier from Daichi’s neck.

 

“But look at me,” he whined. “I’m gorgeous. I’m like, mega hot. You should jump at the chance for a piece of this.”

 

“And ordinarily I would,” Daichi said. “But right now you’re drunk, and therefore can’t consent. So no sex for you.” He poked Yamaguchi gently on the nose, laughing when Yamaguchi went cross-eyed to follow the motion.

 

“Will you have sex with me?” Suga asked, popping one hip outward and leaning against the counter in a way that made his borrowed shirt slip off one shoulder. Daichi chuckled and reached over to put it back into place.

 

“That would be a no, my love,” he said. “Since you are also drunk, you can’t consent either. But when you sober up, come find me and I’ll gladly have a threesome with the two of you.”

 

“Score,” Yamaguchi cheered. He let go of Daichi at last, darting somewhat unsteadily out of the kitchen. “Hey, Shouyou, guess who just scored a future threesome with Daichi!”

 

“Tadashi, he’s our boyfriend. We can all have threesomes with him whenever we want.” Hinata sounded more confused than anything. There was a smack and a muttered “Moron,” and then the room erupted into bickering. Daichi smiled.

 

“Do you need help carrying those out?” he asked Suga.

 

“Nope,” Suga said, sticking his tongue out and balancing three cups in his hand. “I have a trick.”

 

“Your trick only works when you’re sober,” Daichi said, reaching out to pluck two of the cups out of Suga’s hand. “You take two, I’ll take the rest.” Suga saluted him and grabbed another cup, almost spilling it on himself as he turned too quickly and left the room. Daichi shook his head fondly and gathered up all the rest before following him out.


	12. Things You Said When You Thought I Was Asleep

Waking in a cramped bed was the first sign Daichi had that something was up. The big bed in the master bedroom was never cramped, though it was always full. And he was certain he had fallen asleep alone that night. But here he was, Nishinoya curled against his chest and Kinoshita pressed against his back. He wasn’t sure what woke him at first, until strong fingers combed through his hair. He closed his eyes and let the touch soothe him. It had been a hard day, and Daichi had been more than a little upset when he had gotten home. He had come into the spare bedroom to be alone with his frustration, so as to not bring anyone else in the house down with him. Evidently, it hadn’t worked.

 

“I don’t know how I got this lucky,” Asahi whispered. Daichi almost opened his eyes, but his eyelids were too heavy to manage it fully. “I don’t deserve something this wonderful,” Asahi continued. “I don’t know that any of us does, really.”

 

“Speak for yourself.” Kinoshita’s voice was slurred and half-asleep. Daichi bit back a smile at the sound. “I deserve all of you. I’m perfect.”

 

“That’s true,” Asahi chuckled. “You are perfect. But Daichi’s even more perfect, you have to admit.”

 

“Okay, yeah, I can admit that.” Kinoshita yawned, sitting up on the bed. Daichi whined at the loss of his warmth and both he and Asahi went still. After a moment, the gentle fingers began combing through Daichi’s hair again and he settled. “I don’t know what he sees in any of us,” Kinoshita said.

 

“I’ll deny it if you tell him this, but I have kind of a huge crush on him.” Now Daichi knew they knew he was awake, because that teasing tone in Asahi’s voice was one he reserved only for Daichi. He hummed and snuggled closer to Nishinoya.

 

“Everyone has a crush on me,” he whispered. “I’m perfect, remember?”

 

“You just keep telling yourself that,” Asahi said. “You feeling better now?”

 

Daichi hummed, considering. He had Nishinoya small and warm in his arms and Kinoshita and Asahi sitting on the bed with him. The anger, the frustration of the day before was entirely out of reach, melted away by the love and warmth of his family. “I am,” he said at last. “But I’d feel even better if we could stop chit chatting and go back to snuggling and sleeping.”

 

“I agree with Daichi,” mumbled Nishinoya, curling in a smaller ball. “You guys are too loud.”

 

“Sorry,” murmured Daichi, dropping a kiss to the top of Nishinoya’s head. He shuffled them both closer to the far edge of the bed to give the other two room to lay down. Kinoshita took his old spot at Daichi’s back, wrapping an arm around both his waist and Nishinoya’s. Asahi took the outside edge, draping his arm across Kinoshita to rest his hand on Daichi’s hip. Daichi drifted off to sleep, warm and well-loved.


	13. Things You Said at the Kitchen Table

Meals in the house were loud, messy affairs. The dining room was massive to fit enough shoved-together tables and mismatched chairs to seat fourteen. Tanaka and Kinoshita had been working for over an hour to make enough food to feed all of them, and the house smelled amazing. Yuu took his usual place three seats in from the foot of the table and grinned. He kicked at Hinata’s feet under the table, grinning wider when Hinata kicked back. After a few moments, the game of footsie died when Kinoshita, Tanaka, and Suga started bringing out plates. The rest of the family filtered into the dining room, and the meal began.

 

“I’ve got a plus one to my company holiday party,” Daichi said around a mouthful of rice. “We’re going to that one place with the meat on sticks, so I was going to let you monsters fight over it.”

 

“Dibs!” shouted Yuu, slamming his hand into Tanaka’s face to keep him from saying anything.

 

“All right,” laughed Daichi. “You can come.”

 

“Good,” Yuu said, shoveling a piece of tonkatsu into his mouth.

 

“Noya, you ass,” said Tanaka, shoving him in the shoulder. Yuu shoved him back, ready to start a fight right there at the table. Ennoshita cleared his throat from his seat next to Hinata and Yuu bit his lip, sitting obediently.

 

The meal continued as peacefully as was possible with fourteen people. After everyone had finished eating, Yuu helped Ennoshita and Asahi clear their plates away. Asahi went back out into the dining room to distract the others while Ennoshita and Yuu pulled out the cake and the candles. They lit twenty-seven candles and together they carried the flaming cake out into the dining room. Daichi hit the lights and everyone began to sing.

 

Yamaguchi’s face lit up brighter than any star in the sky when he saw what Ennoshita and Yuu were bringing out. His birthday had always been a loud affair, with lots of drinking and dancing, but it was a Wednesday night and everyone had work the next day so they had all agreed to wait to celebrate until that Friday.

 

“Who put this together?” Yamaguchi laughed when everyone had fallen silent.

 

“Shut up and blow out your candles,” Tsukishima grumbled. Yamaguchi did as he was told, his face scrunching up adorably in concentration. Then he leaned over Narita to give Tsukishima a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

 

“What’d you wish for?” Hinata asked, reaching across the table toward the knife. Ennoshita scooped it out of his reach and started cutting the cake himself.

 

“He can’t tell you that, dumbass,” said Kageyama.

 

“Tobio’s right,” Yamaguchi said serenely, accepting a plate with nearly half of the cake on it from Ennoshita. “If you tell someone a wish, it won’t come true.”

 

“I bet you wished for mind-blowing-” Ennoshita slapped a hand over Yuu’s mouth to stifle him, much to the amusement of the rest of the family. He shoved a plate of cake into Yuu’s hand and shoved him toward his seat.

 

“Go eat your cake and behave,” Ennoshita said. Yuu winked at Yamaguchi, cackling when he got a smirk and a wink in return. He sat down and ate his cake obediently, sure that the rest of the night promised more.


	14. Things You Said After You Kissed Me

Kissing Yamaguchi was like holding the heat of the sun. It was symphonies and magic, fireworks and sleepy Sunday mornings spent lying in bed with nothing better to do than enjoy the warmth and laziness. He ran his fingers through Shouyou’s hair, tilting his head to get a better angle. His lips moved against Shouyou’s like a worshiper before an altar. He ran one hand down Shouyou’s back, pulling him closer although they were already pressed tightly together. He kissed Shouyou like a dying man presented with the water of life, like a child discovering something wonderful for the first time. He kissed Shouyou like Shouyou was all that mattered in the world. They lay on the couch together, and a marching band could have danced through the living room on a herd of elephants and Shouyou wouldn’t have noticed, so caught up in Yamaguchi and the way he kissed him.

“Shouyou,” he whispered, pulling away to press a line of kisses to Shouyou’s jaw. Shouyou tilted his head back with a whine, giving Yamaguchi more room to work. Yamaguchi kissed down Shouyou’s neck, stopping at the hollow of his collar bone. He stayed there for a long moment, just breathing against Shouyou’s skin.

“Tadashi?” asked Shouyou, bringing his hands up to settle on Yamaguchi’s shoulders. Yamaguchi took a shaky breath, and pressed his lips to the dip of Shouyou’s clavicle.

“I love you,” Yamaguchi whispered. Shouyou chuckled.

“I know that, silly,” he said. Yamaguchi shook his head.

“No, I mean I love you. I love you so much I feel like I might explode.” He looked up at Shouyou with a giddy smile stretched across his face. Shouyou found himself grinning back, unable to contain all the happiness inside of him. “I love you more than all the treasures in all the world, than all the stars in the sky. I love you more than life itself, more than oxygen. I love you more than Tsukki loves strawberry shortcake.” Shouyou gasped.

“I love you more than Tsukki loves strawberry shortcake too!” he cried.

“I don’t know about that,” Tsukishima droned from his chair in the corner, turning a page in his book. “I love strawberry shortcake an awful lot.”

“Yeah, but you love us more, right?” Shouyou asked. Tsukishima glanced up at him, considering. Then he looked back down at his book and shrugged.

“I love strawberry shortcake an awful lot,” he said. Shouyou’s mouth dropped open and he climbed off of the couch, shoving Yamaguchi off of him. He was just about to storm over to the chair to give Tsukishima a piece of his mind when a hand closed around his wrist and yanked. Yamaguchi pulled him back down onto the couch, this time on top of him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, his voice low and sultry as he brushed Shouyou’s bangs out of his face. “I’m not done with you yet.”

“Promise?” asked Shouyou.

“Gross,” said Tsukishima.

“Promise,” agreed Yamaguchi, and kissed Shouyou again.


	15. Things You Said With Too Many Miles Between Us

Tadashi shushed a giggling Hinata as the phone rang. It was imperative that the others keep quiet as he made this phone call. Daichi was not a threat to take lightly, after all.

 

“Tadashi? Is everything okay?” Daichi asked without so much as a hello. Tadashi snorted.

 

“Why do you always assume there’s a disaster when I call you?” he asked.

 

“History repeats itself,” Daichi answered, his voice dry. “What’s up?”

 

“Is this a good time?” Tadashi asked, wanting to be sure they hadn’t caught Daichi in between important meetings or anything like that.

 

“Yeah, I’m actually just about to get dinner,” Daichi said. “So again, what’s up?”

 

“I want you to know that you are at least partially responsible for this,” Tadashi hummed. “You make up a good two-thirds of the family’s impulse control, and you left us unsupervised.”

 

“Tadashi,” Daichi said. “What’s. Up.”

 

“I’m sending you a picture,” Tadashi said, pulling his phone away from his ear. He held it up to snap a shot of the others, then sent it in a message to Daichi. He held the phone up to his ear and waited.

 

“Tadashi?” asked Daichi.

 

“Yes, Daichi?”

 

“Is that what I think it is?”

 

“Her name is Trombone and we love her,” Tadashi said. “She has three legs and she’s so fluffy, Daichi, we couldn’t just leave her in the shelter.”

 

Daichi sighed. “Honestly, with you working at that shelter, it was only a matter of time,” he said. “I’m just surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

 

“So you’re not mad?” Tadashi asked.

 

“No, I’m not mad,” Daichi said. “I’m a little disappointed in Chikara and Asahi, but honestly I’m not surprised you managed to sway them.”

 

“Oh please,” Tadashi said with a snort. “Asahi took one look at Trombone and fell in love.”

 

“And that’s another thing,” said Daichi. “Who allowed you to name our first dog Trombone? That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard.”

 

“Daichi!” gasped Tadashi, looking over at where Trombone was licking Hinata’s face. “Don’t talk about our daughter that way! Her name is lovely, just like her.”

 

“It was Kei, wasn’t it?” Daichi asked.

 

“Him and Hitoka, yeah,” Tadashi replied. “It suits her, though.”

 

“Trombone. The name Trombone suits the dog.” Daichi was sounding more and more exhausted by the minute.

 

“You’re gonna love her,” Tadashi said.

 

“I believe it. What kind of dog is she?”

 

“Mixed. We think she’s part Labrador, but we couldn’t be sure,” Tadashi said. “Hey, Daichi?”

 

“Yeah, Tadashi?”

 

“When are you coming home?” Daichi snorted.

 

“Three and a half days,” he said. “And not a moment too soon. I swear, Tadashi, if you do anything impulsive before I get there, I will never forgive you.”

 

“Okay, but if animals grow up together, they have a better chance of getting along than if you introduce them when they’re older,” Tadashi said. “And you should have seen how cute Asahi was today with this kitten climbing all over him and-”

 

“Goodbye, Tadashi.”

 

“So is that a yes?” Daichi hung up without answering and Tadashi shrugged. “I guess that’s a yes.”


	16. Things You Said With No Space Between Us

Kazuhito woke sometime around the middle of the afternoon, his head pounding and his mouth tasting like mornings and death. There was a heavy weight draped over his torso, and he considered letting it crush him, if only so that he wouldn’t have to get up and face the day. The weight shifted and Kazuhito peeled open an eye to see who it was.

 

Suga was sprawled across Kazuhito’s chest, one arm thrown out to drape across Tsukishima, who was pressed against Kazuhito’s other side. Tsukishima was awake, watching Kazuhito with soft, sleepy eyes.

 

“What time is it?” croaked Kazuhito. Tsukishima shrugged.

 

“Late,” he said. “How’re you feeling?”

 

“Like I spent all last night with my head in the toilet,” he said. “What are you two doing in here? If it’s a stomach bug, you could catch it.”

 

“It’s just food poisoning,” Tsukishima said. “Asahi was sick too, but he’s feeling better today. He ate the same oysters as you, remember?”

 

“Poor Asahi,” said Kazuhito.

 

“Poor Asahi was up at seven this morning scrubbing dishes, so I wouldn’t feel to sorry for him,” Tsukishima said. “You had it way worse than he did, anyway.” Tsukishima brushed his fingers against Kazuhito’s cheek. “Are you feeling better now?” he asked.

 

“I am,” Kazuhito said. Tsukishima leaned forward like he was about to kiss Kazuhito. “You don’t want to do that,” he said.

 

“Why not?” Tsukishima breathed. A shiver ran up Kazuhito’s spine.

 

“Because my mouth is not a fun place to be right now,” he said. “You don’t want to taste what’s going on in there.”

 

“Fine,” Tsukishima said, laughter coloring his voice. He leaned up and kissed Kazuhito on the forehead instead. “Want some help getting the weighted blanket off of you?”

 

“Please?” Kazuhito asked. “I really need to pee.” Tsukishima laughed at that, and started untangling the pile of limbs that was Suga. Together they rolled him off of Kazuhito and onto the other side of the bed. Kazuhito darted up and into the bathroom.

 

Once he had brushed his teeth and washed his face, Kazuhito emerged from the bathroom feeling much more human. It was two in the afternoon, and Kazuhito felt refreshed. He walked out into the living room to find Tsukishima curled up in his favorite armchair, reading a book. Kazuhito grinned to himself and snatched the book out of Tsukishima’s hand. Before Tsukishima could protest, he dropped himself down into the chair, curling in Tsukishima’s lap.

 

“Hey there?” Tsukishima said. “How can I help you?”

 

“I’ll take that kiss now,” Kazuhito said. Tsukishima smiled.

 

“Oh, will you now? And what if the window’s already closed on that kiss?”

 

“It hasn’t,” Kazuhito said confidently.

 

“What makes you say that?” asked Tsukishima.

 

“Because,” Kazuhito said. “You _like_ me. Like, _like-_ like me. You have a big, fat, sloppy crush on me, and you want to kiss me.”

 

“Awfully full of yourself, aren’t you?” Tsukishima asked. Kazuhito shrugged.

 

“You make me confident,” he said. Tsukishima smiled.

 

“Good,” he said, and leaned in to kiss him.


	17. Things You Said I Wish You Hadn't

Chikara’s mother’s house in the city was full of relatives and out of town guests, and he and Yachi were just two more faces in the crowd. They mingled with cousins and aunties and people whose names and faces Chikara barely managed to put together, trying for some semblance of normalcy.

 

“And I thought our family was big,” Yachi murmured under her breath after the thirtieth introduction that day.

“Sorry,” Chikara said. He had lost count of how many times he had said it already. She just smiled and patted him on the arm. They were in the back yard, standing somewhere near the barbecue, barely outside of the crush of people taking up most of the space. Chikara had yet to see his great-grandmother, whose hundredth birthday they were celebrating.

 

“Ah, Chika,” came a familiar voice, and Chikara turned to see his mother coming toward them. She had a mostly-empty wine glass in her hand, and from the way she was walking, it hadn’t been the first. Chikara braced himself. She opened her arms for a stiff and formal hug and a kiss on the cheek. “And who is this lovely lady?”

 

“Mother, you have met Hitoka before,” Chikara reminded her. “I’ve been bringing her to family events for years now.”

 

“Right, right, of course,” she said. “How wonderful to see you again, my dear. You really should come by more often.”

 

“Oh, if only we could,” Yachi said. “I love visiting here. But Chikara and I are so busy that we can’t really make the trip very often.”

 

“Of course, of course,” Chikara’s mother said, her voice just the right touch of sad and understanding. “Of course,” she said again, her tone considering now, “there may be a reason for us to come out there and visit you?”

 

“What reason could that be?” Yachi asked, and though she was perfect in her performance, Chikara could tell she was terrified by the concept.

 

“Oh, no reason at all,” said Chikara’s mother with a wink. She caught sight of someone else to torment and sauntered off with determined steps. Chikara sighed.

 

“What was that all about?” Yachi asked. Chikara sighed again. He’d been doing that a lot lately.

 

“She was pressuring me to marry you the last time we talked on the phone,” he said.

 

“I thought she was serious about visiting us,” Yachi said.

 

“Oh no, that will never happen,” Chikara said. “We’re too far out of her way. Don’t worry, Hitoka, she’ll never know.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Yachi said. “I know you hate pretending.”

 

“It would be worse if she found out,” Chikara said. “At least she speaks to me a few times a year this way. As long as I’m a good son with a good girlfriend and a good job, she doesn’t need to know about all the rest of it.”

 

“Still,” Yachi said, plastering on a smile and waving at one of Chikara’s nephews. “You shouldn’t have to pretend for their sake.”

 

“No,” Chikara agreed. “I shouldn’t.”


	18. Things You Said When You Were Scared

Kiyoko came home to the sound of screaming. She shut the front door and toed off her shoes, calmly talking off her coat and scarf before she made her way down the hall and into the living room.

Hinata, Tanaka, Narita, and Yamaguchi were all sitting in a pile on the couch, huddled under a mass of blankets and watching something on the television. Kiyoko watched as there was a flash from the screen and Hinata, Tanaka, and Narita all jumped in surprise. She rolled her eyes and walked up to the couch, dropping into the open seat next to Narita.

“What’re we watching?” she asked.

“Zombies Versus Aliens Four,” Yamaguchi answered, calm as could be. Kiyoko pulled a blanket over her lap, ignoring the huffing of the boys as they readjusted to compensate for the loss.

“Isn’t that the one with the-” Right as she said it, a man’s face was torn in half on the screen by a rampaging alien horror. “Yeah, that,” she said.

“A classic,” Yamaguchi hummed, patting a trembling Hinata on the arm.

“The third one was better,” Kiyoko hummed.

“You two are awful,” whimpered Hinata. “How are you not scared?”

“It’s just a movie,” Yamaguchi said. “How are you so afraid of it?”

“I’m not afraid!” Tanaka crowed, puffing up his chest. There was another jump scare and he flinched hard.

“No, you’re very brave,” Yamaguchi deadpanned. A woman was torn into pieces by a zombie on the screen and Narita gave up, hiding his face in Kiyoko’s shoulder. Kiyoko patted him on the back, leaning forward to watch the carnage on the screen.

“I can’t believe you two are letting them watch this,” came a voice from the kitchen.

“What?” asked Yamaguchi. “This movie’s great!” Suga walked around the corner, his hands on his hips.

“I acknowledge that, but I still can’t believe you got those three to watch it with you,” he said. “You know they’re all gonna have nightmares for a week now.”

“I’ll fight the nightmares off,” offered Yamaguchi, throwing his fists into the air like hew as squaring off against an invisible foe. Kiyoko giggled and he beamed at her.

“Fine, then you get to sleep in the second bedroom with them,” Suga said. “I’m not having their tossing and turning keep the entire house awake.”

“Yes, Mom,” said Yamaguchi. Suga rolled his eyes and stormed away and they all turned back to the movie.

That night, Narita clung to one side of Kiyoko while Hinata was curled against Tanaka on the other. Yamaguchi slept on the far end of the bed, peaceful as could be. Kiyoko sighed, kept awake just like Suga warned by Hinata tossing in his sleep. She reached out and shook his shoulder gently and he sat bolt upright.

“Shouyou, it’s just me,” she said. He looked around the room, his chest heaving rapidly, then buried his face in his hands.

“I had a horrible nightmare,” he said.

“I know,” she replied, opening her arms as well as she could with Narita wrapped around her. “Come here. I’ll keep them at bay.” Hinata snuggled back down, wriggling into her arms and laying his head on her chest.

“It was awful,” he said. “They came for everyone.”

“I know,” she whispered. “But it’s over now. You can sleep.” And slowly, yawning lightly and snuggling closer, Hinata did.


	19. Things You Said When We Were the Happiest We Ever Were

Hitoka’s hands were shaking. It was one thing to pipe dream, to talk about this as if it were some far-off possibility. It was something else altogether to come out and tell everyone that that pipe dream was about to come true.

 

She didn’t know why she decided to start with Asahi, but something about him felt right. She waited until there was no one else around, then approached him with shaky fingers and knocking knees.

 

“Hitoka?” Asahi asked. She smiled nervously at him.

 

“I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk with me.” It wasn’t what she had meant to say, but it was enough to buy her time. He smiled and nodded, putting his book carefully to one side.

 

They walked off of their property and down the country lane that led into town, lined on either side with trees turned riotous in their autumnal glory. Leaves crunched under Hitoka’s feet and she puled her scarf tighter around her neck.

 

“What’s up?” Asahi asked when they stopped at a little copse of trees roughly a mile away from the house. He put a large hand on her shoulder, a comforting weight. She took a deep breath.

 

“I have something to tell you,” she said. “I have something to tell everyone, but I’m nervous.”

 

“It’s just me right now,” Asahi said softly. “There’s nothing to be scared of.”

 

“I know,” she said. She took a deep breath of crisp autumn air. Just get it out, she told herself. There was nothing to be afraid of. “I’m pregnant,” she said at last.

 

Asahi didn’t respond for a moment. He looked at her, eyes searching as though he was making sure what she said wasn’t a joke. Then his face burst into a wide grin and he threw his arms around her.

 

“Are you really?” he whispered. She nodded.

 

“I’m not sure whose it is,” she said. “There are a couple of possibilities, but I figured it would be better if we didn’t know the biological father.”

 

“We’ll all be their father,” Asahi said. His eyes were brimming with unshed tears when he pulled away enough to look down at her. “Hitoka, I’m so happy,” he said.

 

“I’m glad,” she breathed. “I was worried.”

 

“About what? That I wouldn’t be thrilled? That any of us wouldn’t be ecstatic to hear about this?” He laughed, brushing some of her hair out of her face with his thumb.

 

“That was pretty silly of me,” she agreed, giggling lightly. A weight had lifted off of her shoulders and she felt like a new woman. She laid a hand on her stomach, wondering what it would be like to feel as new life began to grow there. Asahi settled his hand over hers and squeezed gently.

 

“We should tell the others,” he said. “Tonight. You and I can make a special dinner to celebrate, and we can let them all know. Together.”

 

Hitoka smiled and threw her arms around his neck.

 

“Thank you,” she breathed. He smiled and held her like he was holding the entire world in his arms. And, as Hitoka thought about it, maybe that wasn’t so inaccurate.


	20. Things You Said That I Wasn't Meant to Hear

Daichi padded down the hallway, yawning widely. He had left Asahi asleep in the smallest bedroom upstairs and wandered off in search of a bathroom and possibly a snack or a book to take back up to bed. He was just passing into the kitchen when voices made him pause.

 

“They’re both asleep,” Yamaguchi was saying. “Koushi, what’s the plan for this year?”

 

“Well, for starters, we could get Asahi that kitten he’s been harping Daichi about,” Suga said. Daichi frowned, opening his mouth to protest. A yawn cut him off before he could say anything.

 

“What about for Daichi?” asked Hianta. “We can’t get him a kitten, and we’ve already got a dog.”

 

“Daichi’s hard to buy for,” Nishinoya complained.

 

“We could do a trip or something for their birthdays this year,” Narita suggested. “That way we don’t have to worry about finding the right gift, and if we all chip in, we can probably buy out a wing at a nice hot spring somewhere.”

 

“I think that’s a great idea,” said Yachi. “We could all use a New Year’s vacation, and we can spring for spa treatments for Daichi and Asahi.”

 

“Okay, all those who agree to the surprise hot springs trip?” Suga called. There was a shuffle as people voted. “Any opposed?”

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Yamaguchi said. “Though, I still say we get Asahi that kitten.”

 

“Maybe for Christmas,” Kiyoko said soothingly. Her voice was dangerously close to the door, and getting closer. Daichi turned and darted back up the stairs, his snack forgotten. He didn’t want the others to know their beautiful surprise was spoiled for half of its intended recipients. He slipped into the bedroom and threw himself into the bed, snuggling up close to Asahi and closing his eyes just as the door swung open.

 

“See, I told you they were asleep,” Hinata whispered.

 

“I just thought I saw… Never mind,” Kageyama muttered. “They were asleep, you were right, I was a dumbass.”

 

“And don’t you forget it.” The door closed again and their footsteps retreated down the hall. Daichi held his breath, waiting to see if anyone else would appear.

 

“Why are we pretending to be asleep?” Asahi whispered. Daichi jumped.

 

“Sorry, did I wake you up?” he asked. Asahi gave him a look.

 

“You threw yourself on top of me,” he said. “Yes, you woke me up.”

 

“Sorry,” Daichi said again.

 

“Don’t apologize, just tell me why we’re pretending to be asleep.” Asahi yawned, wrapping his arms around Daichi and pulling him close. Daichi snuggled into his shoulder and sighed happily.

 

“They were downstairs discussing what to do for our birthdays,” Daichi said. Asahi hummed.

 

“And what are they planning?” he asked.

 

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Daichi teased. Asahi pouted and Daichi giggled, hiding his face in Asahi’s shoulder. “Stop it,” he whispered. “They’re gonna hear and know I wasn’t asleep.”

 

“I’m being perfectly quiet,” Asahi said. “You’re the one who was sneaking around, you know.”

 

“Don’t tell anyone,” Daichi said. “I don’t want them to know the surprise is spoiled.”

 

“I won’t,” Asahi said. “Now come back to sleep already.” Daichi smiled and closed his eyes, content to obey.


	21. Things You Said When We Were On Top of the World

“Guahh! We’re so high up!” Hinata leaned close to the window, pressing his face up to the glass and looking out over the city spread out below them. Kei rolled his eyes, hooking his hand in the back of Hinata’s shirt and tugging him back.

 

“Try not to be obnoxious, for once in your life,” he said. Hinata opened his mouth to argue, but just at that moment, Yamaguchi turned away from the gift shop and ran up to the window, pressing his face up to the glass. Kei let go of Hinata with a roll of his eyes, turning his back on the wonder twins and going to stand by Kageyama. Kageyama was being surprisingly well-behaved, standing near the center of the room and looking out idly. Kei slipped a hand into Kageyama’s back pocket and turned to look at the view. They were in Tokyo for Kenma and Bokuto’s wedding, and Hinata had insisted they just _had_ to go up in the skytree, since they hadn’t had the chance back in high school. The others had agreed, but Kei had seen Kageyama’s faint hesitation.

 

“We can go back down if you need,” Kei said softly. Kageyama shook his head.

 

“I’m fine here,” he said. “As long as I don’t get too close to the glass, it’s fine.”

 

“If you’re sure,” Kei said. Kageyama hummed, leaning his head on Kei’s shoulder.

 

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like?” Kageyama asked. Kei made a questioning noise, and Kageyama nodded to where Kenma and Bokuto were standing too close to be polite, Bokuto pointing at something while Kenma smiled up at him. “Getting married, I mean,” Kageyama said.

 

“I wonder that all the time,” Kei said. “But I don’t know how we would even do a fourteen-way wedding. Who would even come?”

 

“Your brother, for one,” Kageyama said. “Natsu. Saeko-neesan. Shouyou’s parents, Tadashi’s parents, Asahi’s mom. Our friends here in Tokyo.”

 

“The wedding party would still outnumber the guests,” Kei said.

 

“Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing,” Kageyama said. “I always thought I would have a small wedding, if I ever had one.”

 

“I think marrying thirteen other people negates any chance of being called ‘small’,” Kei said. Kageyama snorted.

 

“It’s just nice to think about,” Kageyama said. “I even want to marry you sometimes, when you’re not being an ass.”

 

“Aw, I feel the same way about you,” Kei gushed. Kageyama smiled, not taking his eyes off of Hinata and Yamaguchi at the window. Kei looked at them too, at this small piece of their family, and smiled. “It is nice to think about,” he said. “Maybe someday we’ll figure something out.”

 

“If we did, would you marry me?” Kageyama asked. Kei raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“Are you proposing to me?” he asked.

 

“Why not?” Kageyama asked. “This is as good a place as any to do it.”

 

“Well,” Kei said, looking at the window where the sun was just beginning to set. “You’re right about that.”


	22. Things You Said After It Was Over

It had been three years since the day they had moved into the house. Three years that they had lived here, three years of their lives going on as they always had and how it sometimes seemed they always would. Three years, and yet.

 

“How the ever-loving fuck do we still have unopened boxes?” Tsukishima growled.

 

“I’ve checked the whole house, and these are the last ones,” Tanaka said. “When we unpack these ones, we will be officially, completely moved in. Won’t that be a relief?”

 

“It’s a burden I look forward to not having,” Tsukishima droned. “It’s a burden I didn’t even know I had. Why would you tell me about this?”

 

“Because one of them has your name on it,” Tanaka said with a shrug as he stooped to pick up a box. He turned and left the massive walk-in coat closet, leaving Tsukishima and Koushi to pick up the remaining three. Koushi snagged the smallest one and darted out after Tanaka, laughing at the disgruntled yelp Tsukishima let out at being the only one to have to take two boxes. He followed Tanaka into the dining room and set his box on the table.

 

“Scalpel?” he said.

 

“Scalpel,” Tanaka replied, handing Koushi a pair of scissors. Koushi grinned and sliced the tape on the box, pulling it open. Inside was a stack of antique books from Asahi’s collection. Koushi traced his thumb over the filigree on one spine and smiled softly for a moment before he picked up the box to take to the bookshelf in the living room.

 

For three years, they had been making their lives in this place. Koushi smiled at the dent in the wall from their first New Years celebration, when Hinata had launched himself at Daichi and missed, running into the wall. There was the stain on the carpet from Yamaguchi’s birthday party the year before. The floor was scattered with Trombone’s dog toys and the table was scattered with magazines and books and remotes for the complex entertainment system against the far wall. Koushi set his box down on the television stand and started pulling books out one by one, settling them on the top shelf where they would be safe from the family’s everyday shenanigans. When they were all safely tucked away, he folded the box up and made his way back into the kitchen.

 

Hinata’s great-grandmother’s china, a housewarming present from his mother, was half stacked in the curio cabinet and half sitting on the counter beside it, utterly ignored while Tanaka and Tsukishima made out against the fridge. Koushi rolled his eyes and picked up a serving platter with careful hands.

 

“You know, if this breaks because you two were too busy eating each other’s faces to put it away properly, he’ll never forgive you,” Koushi said.

 

“Sure he will,” said Tanaka.

 

“Yeah, but he’ll give us those sad eyes first,” said Tsukishima, peeling himself away from Tanaka’s octopus embrace. “I’d rather avoid that if at all possible.” He opened the cabinet and took the platter from Koushi, settling it into place at the very top. Koushi handed him the next piece, and together they unloaded the box. Tanaka grinned at them as he broke it down.

 

“That’s it,” he said. “It’s over. We are officially moved in.”

 

“Good,” Koushi said. “Because I’m ready to move again. I hear Osaka is nice this time of year.” Tsukishima smacked him on the back of the head and closed the cabinet carefully.

 

“Let’s just enjoy this feeling for a bit before you ruin it with any grandiose plans,” he said.

 

“Sounds good,” Koushi said, and wrapped one arm around Tanaka’s waist and one around Tsukishima’s and led them out into the living room to live the rest of their lives.


	23. Things You Said to Someone Else

The baby’s room was next to the stairs, strategically placed so that someone in the family was guaranteed to hear her if she cried. Tobio paused in the doorway before going downstairs, expecting to see her asleep or at least quietly entertaining herself. What he saw instead was Daichi, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her crib, talking.

 

“And then your papa Suga tried to hook me up with Papa Asahi, thinking that it would help him get over his feelings for Papa Asahi. Which, I’m sure you can imagine, worked out very well for him.”

 

Tobio crossed over to lean against the door frame, smiling as he listened in.

 

“And _then,_ and this is the really funny part, Papa Suga realized he had a crush on _me._ _”_ The baby cooed at him, bouncing in her crib. “I _know_ ,” Daichi said. “It’s like something out of a bad drama. But I promise, it has a happy ending. Because Papa Asahi and I went on a date and-”

 

Tobio listened to Daichi tell the story of how the family had gotten together. Through all the awkwardness of that first year, all the heartache of the next few while they were all attending different colleges around the country, all the happiness of coming back together and building the house, all the way up until Nariko had been born. He waited until Daichi fell silent to step forward and settle in beside him.

 

“That’s a good story,” he said.

 

“It’s one of my favorites,” Daichi replied, looking at Nariko. He held out a hand and watched as Nariko wrapped her fingers around his, babbling at him and shaking her tiny little fist. Tobio leaned his head against Daichi’s shoulder and smiled.

 

“Did you ever think we would get here?” he asked quietly. Daichi looked down at him, then back at Nariko.

 

“Here, in this house or here, as parents?” he asked. “Because the answer to both is no, not in a million years. I never thought any of this would have worked out as well as it did.”

 

“I’m glad it did, though.” Tobio’s voice was small, smaller than he had meant it to be. But sometimes that was how it was. Nariko made him feel small, far too small to be a parent, to be even partially responsible for an entire human being and her upbringing. He sighed.

 

“Papa Tobio doesn’t think he deserves all this, even after all these years,” Daichi said suddenly. “Papa Tobio’s a silly head.”

 

“I am not a silly head,” Tobio protested, sitting up and glaring at Daichi. Daichi continued looking at Nariko, a serene smile on his face.

 

“Papa Tobio doesn’t accept the fact that he’s a silly head, but it’s true. Papa Tobio also doesn’t accept the fact that he’s so very loved, just as loved as little princesses who have all their parents wrapped around their little fingers.” Daichi turned to look at Tobio with a twinkle in his eye, then turned back to the baby. “Don’t tell anyone, but I love Papa Tobio a whole awful lot. More than he will ever know.”

 

“I love you too,” Tobio whispered, leaning his head against Daichi once more. “I love you both so very much.”


	24. Things You Said When We Were Alone

Alone time was hard to come by in the house, what with fourteen adults and one toddler living under the same roof. So when Hisashi opened the door to find only one pair of shoes in the genkan, irrational worry flooded him in equal parts with relief. All of the others were halfway across the country at one of Kageyama’s games, but neither Hisashi nor Narita could get the time off work to go.

Hisashi padded through the house, looking idly for Narita. He had gotten home late, at nearly eleven at night thanks to a mixup at the hospital where Hisashi worked. Narita was probably already in bed.

He checked the smaller bedrooms first, thinking it would be easier to cope with the emptiness of the house if they were in a bedroom that was only meant for two or three people. Narita, it seemed, disagreed, for he wasn’t in either of the spare bedrooms. Hisashi sighed lightly and pushed open the door to the master bedroom, stepping inside.

Narita was curled in the very middle of the massive bed, looking so very small and vulnerable with no family around him. Hisashi closed the door and pulled off his scrubs in the darkness, not wanting to wake Narita up by turning on the overhead light. When he was stripped down to his boxers, he crawled onto the bed and over to where Narita was just stirring awake.

“’Sashi?” slurred Narita. Hisashi shushed him with a kiss to the forehead.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, I’m glad you did.” Narita yawned and sat upright, scrubbing at his face with his palms. He blinked sleepily at Hisashi and smiled. “It was too quiet here without you.”

“You mean without the others,” Hisashi said. Narita shrugged.

“Them too,” he said softly. “But I missed you the most. After Nariko, that is.”

“Everyone misses Nariko the most,” Hisashi replied. Narita smiled, opening his arms. Hisashi crawled closer, throwing his legs across Narita’s lap and snuggling against his shoulder. They listened to the silent house for a moment, broken up only by the sound of each other’s breathing. Hisashi shook his head. “It’s too quiet,” he whined. Narita chuckled.

“We can turn on the stereo downstairs,” he suggested. “That’ll make it sound like there are other people in the house.”

“I love you.” It was a sudden statement, blurted out before Hisashi even realized he was speaking. He thought about it, then nodded his head. “I love you,” he repeated, more surely this time.

“I love you too,” Narita said. “Get off of me and I’ll go turn it on. You must be exhausted.”

“I am,” Hisashi said, “but not so exhausted that I don’t love you.”

“Okay,” Narita said, shoving him playfully. “Now get off of me.”

“But Kazu, I love you,” Hisashi cried.

“I love you too. Now get off of me.”

“Okay, I love you.” Hisashi pulled his legs off of Narita and let him up.

“Goodnight, Hisashi.”

“Goodnight, I love you.”

“Oh my god, shut up.”

“But I love you.”

Narita paused in the doorway, smiling back at Hisashi with the softest of looks on his face. “I love you too,” he said.


	25. Things You Said But Didn't Mean

“I hate this fucking family!”

 

“Well if you hate it so much, why don’t you just leave already?”

 

“Maybe I will! Maybe I’ll go and then you’ll all be so much happier without me!”

 

“Go then! Get out, we don’t want you here anyway!”

 

“Now, let’s all be reasonable here-”

 

“No, shut up! No one wants your platitudes here. If he wants to go so bad, let him go.”

 

“You know as well as I do that no one wants to go anywhere.”

 

“I do! I can’t stand it here sometimes. There’s no room to think!”

 

“You’re just upset. Why don’t you take a walk, cool off for a bit, and when you come back you’ll feel better.”

 

“If I leave this house, I’m not coming back.”

 

“You don’t mean that.”

 

“No, I think he does. And if he wants to go, I say good riddance.”

 

“Maybe I don’t want to go. Maybe I just want you to go. Get out of my fucking hair for once in your life, stop smothering me and leave me be.”

 

“Neither of you is going anywhere. Not until we’ve sorted this out.”

 

“Who put you in charge anyway?”  


“Yeah, no one wants your input.”

 

“Neither of you is thinking straight right now. If you would just-”

 

“Just what? Hold hands and pretend we always get along? Sing songs and skip through the meadow together? Bake a pumpkin pie and pretend like we’ve got no problems because we’re not real fucking people?”

 

“Don’t yell at him!”

 

“Why not? He’s the one sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

 

“Because he’s just trying to help, though god knows why he cares about your sorry ass.”

 

“He doesn’t! No one does! All anyone here cares about is maintaining peace and pretending everything is all hunky dory when it’s not! I can’t stand it!”

 

“Then leave!”

 

“I’ve been trying to!”

 

“What’s stopping you?”

 

“I fucking love you, okay? Even when I hate your guts I still love you. But right now you make me so mad I could claw your eyes out.”

 

“Do it then!”

 

“No, there will be no clawing here. If I have to physically separate you two, I will. And you know I can do it.”

 

“God, you’re always taking his side. Have a fucking backbone for once in your life.”

 

“Don’t fucking yell at him! How many times do I have to tell you to leave him out of this?”

 

“How many times is he going to stick his nose back in where it doesn’t belong? If this is between you and me, what is he even doing here?”

 

“He’s making sure you don’t do something stupid.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Like leave!”

 

“Fine! I won’t leave! I’ll just stay here and be miserable for the rest of my life!”

 

“Good! God knows everyone else is with you here!”

 

The sound of slamming doors filled the house, and then silence. Kei slumped against the wall of the smallest bedroom, his anger slowly leeching away.


	26. Things You Said In Front of Other People

“Chikara, when are you going to marry that sweet girl?” The words were swirling around Hitoka’s head as she attended yet another of Ennoshita’s family get-togethers. She could feel the tension radiating off of Ennoshita in waves, the way every comment made him tenser.

 

“A baby needs a father, you know.” This time it was Ennoshita’s aunt, the one who showed up to every function drunk enough to start raining homophobic comments about Ennoshita’s second cousin down on everyone within earshot. Hitoka bit back the urge to tell her just how many fathers their baby had.

 

“Chikara,” she said softly, and drew him off to one side.

 

“What is it?” he asked, his entire focus on her. She smiled at his sweetness and reached into her pocket.

 

“I know this is sudden, but I talked with the rest of the family and they agree that you should be Nariko’s legal father. I want you to take this ring and propose to me. That’ll shut everyone up.” She pulled out a ring box and pressed it into his hand.

 

“Hitoka, are you sure?” he hissed, shoving the box into his pocket.

 

“Do you want them off your back or not?” she hissed back. “They’re not going to leave you alone until you get married, and they’re not going to believe it if you marry Kiyoko out of the blue.”

 

“But there’s a time and a place,” Ennoshita tried. She shook her head at him.

 

“Not if you really want them to shut up. I’ll drag you off for some alone time after you do it, but trust me when I say this is the only way.” Ennoshita slumped and nodded. “Hey,” she said, reaching up to cup his cheek. “Is it such a bad thing, being married to me?”

 

“No, that’s not what I-” She laughed, cutting off his frantic scrambling with a kiss.

 

“Come on,” she said. “Everyone’s in the back yard. Now’s as good a time as any.” He nodded, taking her hand in his and leading the way to the center of the back yard. He cleared his throat.

 

“Attention, everyone! Attention!” Hitoka did her best to look confused as he called out to everyone around them. He turned to face her and smiled, and even though this was her plan, her heart stuttered nervously in her chest. He took her other hand and held it, his palms sweaty with his own nerves. “Hitoka,” he said softly, then again, more loudly, “Hitoka. These past few years together have been some of the best of my life. You have been a sparkling star in my world, the best thing I could ever hope to have.” He sank to one knee and pulled out the ring box, opening it. “Will you do me the tremendous honor of being that star every day for the rest of our lives?”

 

Hitoka slapped a hand over her mouth in fake surprise, but the tears that sprang to her eyes were real. She nodded and threw herself into his arms. He laughed when he caught her, the first genuine laugh of the day. In that laugh, she heard every ounce of affection for her, and every hope he had for the future. With that laugh, she knew they were going to be okay.

 

Ennoshita’s mother was the first person to reach them, tugging Hitoka out of Ennoshita’s hold to wrap her arms around her son.

 

“Oh, Chika, I’m so proud of you,” she crowed. “I knew you had it in you!”

 

“It’s about time you put a ring on this one,” added Ennoshita’s uncle, slapping Hitoka on the back. She stumbled, and all of a sudden she was at the center of a massive throng of people, all trying to get their congratulations in. Her breath came short in her chest and she looked around wildly.

 

Ennoshita caught sight of her through the press of bodies and stood up, gently shoving his mother to one side. “If you’ll all excuse us,” he said genially, a fake smile plastered to his face. “I’d like to spend some time with my fiance before our baby sitter has to go home.” He stepped forward quickly, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the throng. They were gone before anyone could protest, through the house and out the front door and into the car in what felt like mere heartbeats. She collapsed into the passenger seat and looked at him.

 

“What’s wrong?” she asked. He grit his teeth and squeezed the steering wheel tightly, then relaxed.

 

“Nothing,” he said, then chuckled. “I just.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out another ring box. “I had wanted to ask you my own way.”

 

“Ask me what?” Hitoka breathed, her eyes trained on the box.

 

“Ask you to marry me, of course,” Ennoshita said. “So, will you?”

 

Hitoka was smiling so widely her cheeks hurt. There were tears in her eyes as she nodded, holding out her hand for him to slip on the ring. In that moment, nothing existed at all but the two of them, sitting in Ennoshita and Narita’s ancient blue sedan, and all the love in the world.

 

“We should go home and tell the others it’s official,” she said.

 

“Way ahead of you.” He put the car in gear and drove away from the life that had always caused him grief, toward the one they would share until the end of their days.


	27. Things You Said in Writing

The main bathroom in the house was off of the master bedroom, and it was glorious. A row of sinks lined one wall with a mirror big enough for fourteen, opposite a shower that could fit no fewer than five. There were shelves lined with rows of soaps and oils, anything one could need to pamper oneself. But it was the mirror that was Shouyou’s favorite part, because each person had their own place in front of it and that made things like this so very easy to do. He pulled out a pen and a pad of sticky notes and stepped up to Asahi’s spot.

 

_You make the world a better place._

 

He wrote it carefully, in his very nicest handwriting, but he knew his chicken scratch would still be recognizable. He wished it wasn’t, wished he had neat, typewriter-like calligraphy the way Tsukishima and Ennoshita did, but apparently that was a skill only offered to a spare few. Shouyou shrugged and darted out of the bathroom and into the walk in closet, looking for a specific pair of dress shoes.

 

_You make me smile, just by existing._

 

This note, he folded up and tucked under the laces of one shiny black shoe, the one Nishinoya only ever wore when he absolutely had to. It would be a while before this note was found.

 

Next he made his way downstairs to the kitchen, where Suga kept his “secret” horde of crackers. He had to climb onto the counter to reach the shelf where they were stashed, but he left another note on the box.

 

_You are stronger than you realize, and your strength gives me strength._

 

He went around the entire house, leaving notes in places where he knew one specific person would find them. When he was finished, he pulled a journal out of his bag and sat down in Nariko’s room. With a hum, he started writing down what he had done that day, and why he loved each of his partners enough to do it. The writing took him into the evening, until the door opened and people started coming home.

 

_Dear Nariko_ _…_

 

-

 

“Shouyou?” He looked up with a hum to see Suga standing in the doorway, a yellow sticky note hanging off of one finger. “This was you, wasn’t it?” he asked.

 

“What was me?” Shouyou asked, knowing full well the blush on his face gave him away. Suga brandished the sticky note in Shouyou’s face.

 

“This is either your handwriting or Tobio’s, and he already denied it,” Suga said.

 

“How do you know he’s not lying?” Shouyou asked.

 

“Because there was one for him too, on his running shoes. Was there one for you?” Shouyou cursed himself silently. It was the one thing he hadn’t thought to do, to cover his tracks that way. Suga snorted and came to sit next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “You’re so sweet,” he said. “What did we do to deserve you?”

 

“Lots of things,” Shouyou said. “There’s a million reasons why, and only so many sticky notes.”

 

Suga chuckled. “Well then,” he said, “we’ll just have to buy you some more.”


	28. Things You Said Through a Closed Door

Asahi had locked himself in the smallest bedroom over an hour ago and Ryuunosuke was starting to get worried. He leaned against the wall between the third and fourth bedrooms, watching the door. He had promised himself he would give Asahi space, but that had been an hour ago and now he was getting antsy. Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer and knocked on the door.

 

“Babe?” he called. “Is everything all right in there?”

 

“Fine,” Asahi called back, his voice muffled. “Everything’s-” There was a loud thud and a muffled curse.

 

“Asahi?” Ryuunosuke called.

 

“I’m fine,” Asahi called.

 

“Are you sure? Are you hurt?”

 

“No, no, I’m not hurt,” Asahi said. “I’m just- struggling with-” There was another thud.

 

“Asahi, do you need me to come in there?” Ryuunosuke half-shouted.

 

There was a third thud, this one louder than either of the other two, and a moment of silence. Then Ryuunosuke heard Asahi sigh heavily and say, “Okay, fine, maybe I need a little help,” Asahi admitted. Ryuunosuke threw open the door to find Asahi in a heap of limbs and fabric on the floor. Ryuunosuke closed the door slowly behind him, not really sure how to take in what he was seeing.

 

“Did you get into a wrestling match with the dress?” he asked.

 

“Yeah,” Asahi said. “And the dress won.” Ryuunosuke couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing.

 

“I’m sorry, babe, I just-” he wheezed, laughing harder at the way Asahi glared at him under his elbow which was somehow caught in the neck hole of the dress. Ryuunosuke took a few deep breaths to get ahold of himself and knelt to get a better idea of what was happening. “You really got yourself wrapped up in this thing, didn’t you?”

 

“I don’t know what happened,” Asahi said. “It went on fine in the dressing room. But then I tried to put it on here and it just wouldn’t cooperate. Please help me.”

 

“All right, all right,” Ryuunosuke laughed, taking hold of a piece of fabric and tugging gently. “Let’s see if we can’t get you out of this mess and into this dress.”

 

“That rhymed,” Asahi said, and Ryuunosuke grinned.

 

“I did it on purpose,” he said. He pulled Asahi’s arm out of the head hole, and all of a sudden the entire dress popped free, hanging limply from his neck. “There,” Ryuunosuke said. “Think you can get it on by yourself?”

 

“Stand by,” Asahi said, pulling his arm through the proper hole this time. He pulled the dress on and stood, smoothing out the wrinkles and considering himself in the mirror. Ryuunosuke stared, awed by the way the floral fabric looked swishing around Asahi’s knees.

 

“You look beautiful,” he whispered. Asahi blushed prettily.

 

“Thanks,” he said. “Now get out of here and don’t tell the others about this. I still have to do my hair and makeup.”

 

“Wait, can I watch?” But Asahi was already pushing him out of the room and closing the door between them. “Babe,” Ryuunosuke cried, but he received no reply.


	29. Things You Said in the Dark

It was late when Yuu wandered out of the master bedroom in search of a drink of water, probably two or three in the morning. He was just creeping past the baby’s room onto the stairs when voices made him pause. He crept to the doorway to listen better, peering into the darkness of the room to try and see its occupants.

“I don’t know what I’m doing here, Tadashi,” whispered Tsukishima, and now that he looked for it, Yuu could see the faint glint of his glasses in the dark.

“You’re feeding the baby,” Yamaguchi whispered back, clearly beyond done with this conversation. Yuu wondered how long it had been going on. “Tsukki, we’ve been over this before,” he said.

“Been over what before?” Yuu asked, pushing the door open the rest of the way to walk inside. His vision was adjusting and now he could see the shadowy outlines of Tsukishima sitting in the rocker with Nariko in his arms and Yamaguchi kneeling beside them. Yuu went to sit in front of Tsukishima, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Yamaguchi sighed.

“Tsukki thinks he’s the wrong person for this family, and the wrong person to be Nariko-chan’s dad,” he said.

“Well that’s dumb,” said Yuu.

“I never said it wasn’t dumb,” Tsukishima snapped. The baby gurgled unhappily at him and he shushed her, rocking her gently until she settled and started drinking from her bottle once more. Yuu reached out to put a hand on Tsukishima’s leg, comforted by the simple touch.

“Do you want to leave?” he asked. Tsukishima was quiet for a long time, and Yuu’s heart sank.

“It would be better for everyone if I did,” Tsukishima said. “I don’t have a job, so I can’t bring any money in. I’m just a leech on everyone else.”

“You’re not a-” Yamaguchi started, his voice rising with anger, but Yuu held out a hand to silence him.

“Is you not having a job the only problem?” he asked. Tsukishima nodded. “Then tomorrow we’ll go get you one. Something to tide you over until you can start a career in your degree field. Sound good?” Tsukishima nodded again. “And if you get a job, will you agree not to leave us, or talk about leaving us again? Unless you’re really serious about it?” Tsukishima nodded a third time, this time curling tighter in his chair and holding Nariko flush against his chest. “Good,” Yuu said.

“How did you do that?” Yamaguchi asked, voice bewildered. Yuu shrugged.

“I can’t be a dumbass all the time,” he said. “Sometimes I do pay attention. And I know that everyone else in the family feels the same way about Kei leaving that I do, so it was just a simple matter of stopping him from going if I could.”

“You just took a wild guess, admit it,” Tsukishima muttered.

“I just took a wild guess,” Yuu agreed. “But hey, it worked didn’t it?” In the faint light from Nariko’s window, Yuu thought he saw Tsukishima smile.

“Yeah,” he said. “It did work.”


	30. Things You Said in the Rain

They were halfway home from their walk when the storm began. At first it was little more than a rumble in the distance, a gathering of storm clouds on the horizon and the scent of promised rain. But then as they walked, the sky turned slowly grey and a droplet fell here and there, precursors to the deluge that opened up between one step and the next.

 

“Shit!” yelled Daichi, throwing his hood over his head. He tightened his hold on Asahi’s hand and tugged him down the lane, stumbling over his own feet in his efforts to speed up. Asahi tried to keep hold of him, but he slipped on a patch of mud and went down.

 

“Are you okay?” he cried, falling to his knees beside where Daichi was lying face-down in the mud. Daichi pulled his face out and nodded, eyes a little dazed but otherwise not showing any signs of injury. Asahi stood and pulled Daichi to his feet beside him, brushing him off a little uselessly. They were both soaked to the bone.

 

“Well that went well,” Daichi said, smearing mud off of his face.

 

“Come on,” Asahi laughed, holding his hand out for Daichi to take once more. “Let’s get home and get warmed up, before either of us catches a cold.” Daichi took his hand and squeezed before setting off down the lane once more, more slowly this time but still fast enough that they would get out of the rain quickly.

 

“You know,” Daichi said slowly as they rounded a bend in the road and their house came into view, lights already twinkling in the windows, “I’ve never been kissed in the rain before.”

 

“Never?” Asahi asked, racking his memory. Surely he must have done it before. But he couldn’t remember a single time when he had witnessed Daichi lingering in the rain before. “Would you like me to change that?”

 

“We’ll catch a cold,” Daichi protested, but his voice was filled with longing.

 

“We’re going to catch a cold anyway,” Asahi said. “We might as well make it worth the price we’re going to pay.” Daichi nodded and let Asahi slow them to a stop underneath the massive apple tree in their front yard.

 

He reached up to cup Daichi’s cheeks in both hands, brushing his thumbs over the soft skin under Daichi’s eyes. He leaned down to brush a kiss over Daichi’s nose, then one over each cheek, his forehead, and his chin. Just as Daichi opened his mouth to protest the slow pace, Asahi leaned in to kiss him.

 

It was a kiss worthy of the movies. Daichi threw his arms around Asahi’s neck, tangling his hands in Asahi’s sweater and clutching tight as Asahi kissed him with everything he had. And Daichi kissed back, lips moving in a reverent prayer. The rainwater felt suddenly warm, a caress rather than a pelting storm, and Asahi knew it would be worth whatever came next. When Daichi pulled quickly out of the kiss to turn his head and sneeze, Asahi only smiled, taking his hand, and led him into the house to get warm.


	31. Things You Said From Across the Room

Kuroo’s thirtieth birthday part was a raucous affair. It seemed he had invited half of Japan into his little apartment. Drinks and music abounded and it seemed everyone was having a good time. Daichi watched the proceedings with a smile on his face, eyes particularly catching on where Hinata was dancing with a reluctant Tsukishima in the middle of the living room floor.

 

Hinata caught sight of Daichi across the room and his face lit up. Daichi smiled back, his heart fluttering in his chest like a schoolboy with a first crush. Tsukishima rolled his eyes and dragged Hinata off of the dance floor.

 

“Hey, where you going?” Daichi yelled.

 

“Away from you!” Tsukishima yelled back. Hinata threw his head back and laughed, twisting his hand around so that he was the one dragging Tsukishima. They twisted their way through the revelers on the dance floor until they were standing before Daichi, Hinata beaming and Tsukishima trying to hide a smile.

 

“Hey,” Daichi said.

 

“Hey yourself,” Tsukishima replied. “Can we leave now?”

 

“No!” Hinata shouted. “I haven’t danced with Daichi yet!”

 

“Well then, you’d better get to it,” Tsukishima said. Daichi laughed, reaching out to take Hinata’s hand. Hinata tugged him onto the dance floor, smiling coyly at him. Daichi settled his hands on Hinata’s hips and began to dance.

 

Hinata twisted in Daichi’s grasp, pressing his back to Daichi’s chest. The music thrummed through Daichi’s pulse, pulling his heartbeat into its rhythm as Hinata moved against him. The song changed to something softer and slower and Daichi smiled. Hinata turned around, leaning up on his tiptoes to wrap his arms around Daichi’s neck as they began to slow dance.

 

“Hey, beautiful,” Daichi whispered.

 

“Hey yourself,” Hinata replied, smiling. “Should we ditch Stingyshima and go have a party of our own?”

 

Daichi laughed, holding tighter to Hinata’s waist. “I think he might be a bit hurt if we did that,” he said.

 

“Even better,” Hinata said. Daichi laughed harder.

 

“I can year you two talking about me,” Tsukishima called from where he was leaning against the wall where they had left him.

 

“Come dance with us,” Hinata shouted. Tsukishima looked like he was about to argue, or perhaps simply walk away, but then he shook his head and stepped forward through the crowd. He stepped up on Hinata’s other side, sliding his hands around Daichi’s neck to link his fingers with Hinata’s, and together they began to sway. Hinata hummed along with the music, pressing closer to Daichi’s chest. He leaned his head on Daichi’s shoulders, sliding one hand still linked with Tsukishima’s around Daichi’s waist. Daichi held his loves close, letting the music take him away to a place where none of the people around them existed. Kuroo’s party fell away until it was just the three of them and the eternal promise of all the others waiting for them at home.

 

“We should get out of here,” Tsukishima whispered, and this time Daichi was more than happy to oblige.


	32. Things You Said When You Were Sick

Yuu slipped through the door to the smallest bedroom, tray laden with tea and medicine in hand. Kiyoko lay in the bed, the blankets pulled up to her chin and a bleary look in her eyes, but when she saw him she started to sit up.

 

“Oh, don’t,” Yuu said, hurrying to set the tray down so he could ease her back onto the bed. “Don’t strain yourself.”

 

“I’m fine,” she croaked, and Yuu winced at just how rough her voice sounded. It was nothing at all like the soft melody that usually spilled from her lips. Yuu grimaced and helped her sit upright, propping her up with pillows before sitting on the edge of the bed and handing her the tea.

 

“How are you feeling?” he asked when she had taken a shaky sip or two. She tried to smile at him, but it was little more than an upward movement of her mouth, no light or life behind it.

 

“I feel fine,” she rasped.

 

“Liar,” he said. “This is why no one else wants to be around you when you’re sick, you know. You seduce them all into thinking you’re fine when really you’re not. But don’t worry. Such wiles don’t work on me.”

 

“My wiles always work on you,” Kiyoko said. Yuu smiled.

 

“Drink your tea,” he said instead of answering. She obliged him, but he had the feeling she was simply biding her time.

 

Sure enough, as soon as the tea was gone, she slumped back into the pillows and batted her eyelashes at him. “What.” he said.

 

“I’m lonely,” she simpered. “Will you stay with me?”

 

“You’re going to get me sick,” Yuu said, taking the tea from her and opening the bottle of cold medicine. He measured out a spoonful of the nasty stuff and held it to her lips, watching as she swallowed it obediently. She coughed lightly and looked up at him with eyes watery from either emotion or sickness - he couldn’t really tell. “Fine,” he relented. “But when I get sick, you’re taking care of me.”

 

“When you get sick, I’ll keep Ryuu from trying to take care of you. Deal?” He smiled, thinking of the last time Tanaka had tried to take care of a sick family member.

 

“Deal,” he said. “Now scoot over and let me onto the bed.” She obliged, sliding over to one side of the bed and shivering at the loss of her warm spot. He ducked under the covers quickly, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close to make up for the loss. She snuggled into his chest and sighed.

 

“Thank you,” she whispered, and then her breathing grew deep and even as she drifted off to sleep. Yuu stayed awake a little longer, stroking her hair and listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing. Then he too closed his eyes and drifted away.

 

When he woke the next morning with a pounding head and a sore throat, she was there with tea and snuggles to remind him why it had been worth it.


	33. Things You Forgot to Say

The bullet train ran three hundred and twenty kilometers per hour, but it was no where near fast enough. Not when Tobio had been away from home for so long, and not when he had made the biggest mistake of his life so far just a few hours before. But now his phone was dead and there was no way to correct his mistake, except to get home as quickly as possible. If only the damn bullet train would go faster.

 

“What’s the matter, Tobio-chan? Why the long face?” Tobio glanced up to see Oikawa leaning over the seat in front of him, a smirk stretched across his face. He shrugged.

 

“I forgot to say I love you when I hung up,” he said. Oikawa cocked his head.

 

“Who were you talking to?” he asked.

 

“Hisashi,” Tobio replied.

 

“That’s the short blond one, right?” Tobio nodded. “Man, you fucked up, didn’t you? Hope he doesn’t hate you forever.”

 

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Tobio said.

 

“What then?” Tobio sighed.

 

“I always try to say I love you so that if something happens, those will be my last words to everyone,” he said. It was something he hadn’t admitted to anyone before, but he knew better than to try and hide the truth from Oikawa. Oikawa blinked at him, then cocked his head the other way.

 

“Well, in that case, I hope the train doesn’t derail, killing us all,” he said, then turned around to pester Ushijima. Tobio looked out the window at the blurred landscape rushing past and wished the train would go faster.

 

When he arrived in Miyagi at last, he was the first one off the train. Narita was supposed to be meeting him at the station, but for a long, heart-wrenching moment, Tobio couldn’t spot his shitty blue sedan. Then he caught sight of him, Kinoshita standing at his side, and relief flooded through him. Tobio launched himself forward, darting down the stairs and across the parking lot. He threw himself at Kinoshita, wrapping his arms around his neck and holding tight.

 

“Hello to you too, Tobio,” Kinoshita laughed, but he held Tobio just as tightly.

 

“I love you,” Tobio said in a rush.

 

“I love you too,” Kinoshita said. “What’s this all about?”

 

“I forgot to tell you,” Tobio said. “On the phone. I forgot to say it, and then my phone died, and I was so worried something would happen before I got to tell you again.”

 

Kinoshita held Tobio tighter, all but crushing him against his torso. Tobio hugged back with all his strength, knowing it must have been painful but not really caring. Kinoshita buried his nose in Tobio’s neck and exhaled shakily. “I love you,” he whispered. “And I know you love me. Everything’s okay, everything’s fine.”

 

“I love you,” Tobio said, and found he couldn’t say anything else. It was ridiculous, really, this overreaction he was having, but he couldn’t talk himself out of it. “I love you,” he said, and again, “I love you.”

 

They stood there for what felt like hours, reassuring themselves and each other, while Narita kept watch over their reunion.


	34. Things I Wish You'd Said

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husbands and wives.” A great cheer went up around the assembled audience, all their friends and families happy to see them wedded at last. Tears streamed down Tadashi’s face, tears of joy and tears of relief. It was a day years in the making, and it was here at last. Tadashi reached out to his left for the nearest of his brand new spouses, meeting an equally teary Nishinoya for a kiss.

 

The reception was a cozy affair, tables and chairs set up in their back yard with dinner served by the catering company Suga worked for. Tadashi danced with Yachi and Hinata and Tanaka and all of his spouses, and the word kept ringing through his head. Spouses. Married. They were married now, declared each other’s for ever by the words said by a justice of the peace. Each and every one of the people he loved was his spouse now. It was a heady thing to consider.

 

Tsukishima stepped up for the next dance, smiling that dorky little smile that meant he was genuinely happy and didn’t care who knew it. Tadashi wrapped his arms around Tsukishima and let the music sweep them away. The world was turned to music and swirling lights as Tadashi danced with his best friend, and then to the piercing light of dawn streaming through the window as he woke and the dream dissolved.

 

Tadashi just barely made it into the smallest bedroom before he burst into tears.

 

It was the morning of the wedding, yes, but not for all of them. It was Yachi and Ennoshita’s wedding, the farce they were putting on to appease Ennoshita’s family and to ensure that at least one of them had parental rights over Nariko. There was no legality in Japan for a wedding like theirs would be, and no precedence for it even if the law did allow. Their magical day would never happen.

 

He didn’t know how long it took before someone found him, but he wasn’t surprised when it was Tsukishima who opened the door. He took one look at Tadashi and closed it the rest of the way, a clear sign to the rest of the family not to interrupt. He crouched down beside Tadashi and wrapped his arms around him without a single word.

 

Through his tears, Tadashi explained his dream and the crushing hole it had left in his heart. Tsukishima cooed soothingly to him and held him until he had cried himself out. Then he pulled a tissue out of the pack on the dresser and mopped up the mess Tadashi had made of his face.

 

“If it’s any consolation,” Tsukishima said, “and don’t tell the others this because not even I’m supposed to know, Chikara was going to use today to come out to his family. It’s still only legally Chikara and Hitoka today, but keep your chin up and who knows what will happen.” Tsukishima winked at him, and before Tadashi could ask what he meant by that, he was gone.


	35. Things You Said Right Before Goodbye

Daichi was sick of business trips. It wasn’t even his trip this time, but Suga’s, and still Daichi felt like there was a hole in his chest.

 

“You’re being ridiculous,” Suga said, smoothing his hands through Daichi’s hair. “Look at you, you’re going as grey as me.”

 

“I am not,” Daichi muttered. He leaned into Suga’s hand, taking comfort in the touch while he still had it close. Suga stepped closer to lean their foreheads together, breathing the same air like they had a thousand times before. Ever since high school, Daichi’s world had leaned on Suga, depended on Suga’s strength to hold it up. And now he was leaving, for two entire weeks to cater a cruise for a particularly wealthy client’s wedding. Suga had to go to personally oversee the preparations of the wedding feast, to make sure it was up to the bride’s exacting standards. It was the first time Suga would be away from the family.

 

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay without me?” Suga asked.

 

“I should be asking you that,” Daichi said. “You’re the one who’s going away.”

 

“I’m going to be on a cruise,” Suga said. “Relaxing, sipping cocktails by the pool, dipping my toes in the sand in some exotic location.”

 

“You’re going to be working and crying and that’s it,” Daichi accused. Suga laughed softly, tucking his face against Daichi’s shoulder.

 

“I’m going to miss all of you,” he whispered. “But I’ll miss Hisashi the most.”

 

“I always miss Chikara the most, personally, but I understand there’s no accounting for taste.” Suga snorted, hugging Daichi tightly.

 

There were footsteps on the stairs and a pair of thick, warm arms wrapping around the two of them. Daichi leaned into Asahi’s embrace, sighing to himself.

 

“Ready to go?” Asahi rumbled. Daichi closed his eyes.

 

“Almost,” Suga said. He leaned forward, and then there was a soft, wet pressure on Daichi’s cheek.

 

“What was that for?” Daichi asked, opening his eyes to see Suga smiling up at him.

 

“A kiss for the road,” he said. “I’ll expect to get one in return when I get home.”

 

Daichi smiled. “I promise,” he whispered. Suga untangled himself from Daichi and Asahi’s arms and bent to pick up his bag. He took a deep breath, looking around the entryway like it was the last time he would see it, and then he slapped a smile on his face.

 

“Love you,” he said to Daichi. “See you in two weeks.” And with that, he turned on his heel and walked out the door.

 

“I love you too,” Daichi whispered, watching the door close behind Suga. Asahi pulled Daichi close and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

 

“He’ll be back before we know it,” he said.

 

“I know,” Daichi replied. “Drive safe.” Asahi nodded and gave Daichi one quick squeeze, then he too was gone. Daichi stood alone in the entryway, looking at the pile of shoes in the genkan and feeling very small indeed.


	36. Things You Said Right After Hello

It was the last day of Kageyama’s training camp, and Shouyou had been allowed to meet him at the station. He had been gone for two and a half weeks, the longest any of them had been away except for Tsukishima’s semester abroad in college. Certainly, it was the longest anyone had been away in a long time.

 

Shouyou parked the blue sedan as close to the station exit as he could get and hopped out, climbing on top of the hood to wait.

 

He hadn’t been sitting there long when a crowd of familiar white and red jackets streamed out of the entrance. Shouyou stood up, craning his neck to catch sight of dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He grinned and took off running.

 

Kageyama caught him around the waist with a grunt, while the rest of his team watched and laughed. Shouyou ignored them, holding Kageyama tight as he could.

 

“I missed you,” he whispered. Kageyama bent down to hug him back just as fiercely.

 

“I missed you too,” he said. All around them, the team shouted their goodbyes to one another and split off in every direction. After a moment, there was no one left but the two of them. Time seemed to slow to a stop as Shouyou stood in Kageyama’s arms once more.

 

“How was the camp?” Shouyou asked, pulling away at last - though not all the way. He made sure to keep an arm around Kageyama’s waist as they walked to the car. Kageyama wrapped an arm around his shoulders like he was just as desperate for the touch and familiarity as Shouyou.

 

“It was fine,” Kageyama said. Shouyou frowned.

 

“Just fine?” he asked. They reached the car and Kageyama sighed, his shoulders slumping.

 

“I’m thinking it’s time to retire soon,” he said.

 

“What?!” Shouyou cried, springing away so he could stare at Kageyama in shock. “But- _What?!_ ”

 

“I think it’s time to retire soon,” Kageyama repeated. “I’m thirty now, and Oikawa-san and the others are all gone. I’ve got to think about my health.”

 

“Who put you up to this?” Shouyou demanded. Kageyama put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

 

“A few people,” he said. “My coaches think I’ve still got a couple seasons left in me, but the team medic thinks I’m at risk for another injury if I keep going. And the media keeps waiting for me to retire, and there’s the family-”

 

“The family wouldn’t want you to give up on what you love,” Shouyou said.

 

“No, but the family will support me if this is what I choose.” Shouyou stared at Kageyama. Somehow, over the years, he had matured. He wasn’t the volleyball-crazy, angry guy he had been in high school and college. He was someone new, someone Shouyou wasn’t sure he knew.

 

“What will you do?” Shouyou asked, and he saw in Kageyama’s eyes that he recognized it as the acceptance it was.

 

“I don’t know,” Kageyama said, opening his car door. “But I’m excited to find out.”


	37. Things You Said Through Someone Else

Asahi was sitting in his office, across the room from a furiously-typing Kiyoko, trying to make sense of the expense reports in front of him. It had been a long day, and it looked like it would last until well into the evening.

 

He was so immersed in his work that he almost didn’t notice when the typing stopped. Kiyoko murmured something in a low voice, and then the typing began again, so Asahi thought nothing of it.

 

That is, until a little hand tugged on his sleeve.

 

“Papa Asahi?” asked a small, sweet voice. He turned to see Nariko smiling up at him, big brown eyes sparkling.

 

“Yes, my angel?” he asked, turning to face her fully.

 

“Mama Kiyo says you’re cute when you get all focused.” Asahi glanced across the room at Kiyoko, but she was staring at her screen, typing away like nothing was going on. He smirked.

 

“Can you do me a favor, Nari-chan?” he asked. Nariko nodded, stepping closer with a serious look on her face like she could handle any mission he sent her on. He ruffled her hair and leaned down to whisper in her ear. She nodded again and trotted off across the room to tug on Kiyoko’s sleeve. Asahi turned quickly back to his work, pretending to move things around in a spreadsheet while he listened.

 

“Mama Kiyo?” Nariko asked, and the typing stopped.

 

“What is it, Nari-chan?” she asked, her voice serene as always.

 

“Papa Asahi says you’re the prettiest angel ever to be born.” Asahi wished he could turn around, to see the beautiful smile that was sure to grace Kiyoko’s face, the one she always got when she was genuinely complimented by someone in the family. But that would ruin the game, so he stared straight ahead and moved his mouse a bit. There was a pitter patter of feet and a tug at Asahi’s shoulder.

 

“Papa Asahi? Mama Kiyo says your beard is hot and she wants you to meet her in the bedroom.” Her head was cocked to one side like she wasn’t sure what she was saying. Asahi stared at her, aghast.

 

“Kiyoko!” he cried, scandalized.

 

“Yes, Asahi?” Kiyoko turned away from her work, her face innocent like there was nothing on her mind but her work.

 

“Don’t say things like that to Nari-chan!” Asahi scolded.

 

“Things like what?” Kiyoko asked. Asahi glared at her.

 

“Papa?” Nariko tugged at Asahi’s knee.

 

“What is it, darling?” Asahi asked. Nariko lifted her hands up. Asahi sighed exaggeratedly, like it was the biggest burden in the world to lift Nariko into his lap. She giggled and tugged at the ends of his hair. “You know, princess, you’re kind of a hassle,” he said.

 

“I know,” Nariko said. “Mama Kiyo tells me that all the time.” Asahi glanced at Kiyoko, who was busy typing away.

 

“Oh really?” he asked. “What else does Mama Kiyo say?”

 

“Lots of stuff!” Nariko said.

 

“Well,” said Asahi, turning off his computer screen, “why don’t you tell me all about it?”


	38. Things You Whispered In My Ear

Ryuunosuke was warm and sleepy, pinned to the bed by the heavy weight wrapped up in his arms. Suga had crawled into his lap a few hours before with a book he’d had no intentions of reading, and had promptly fallen asleep. Ryuunosuke had draped a blanket over the both of them and let his thoughts drift wherever they would. He hadn’t quite fallen asleep himself, but rather drifted on the line between sleep and wakefulness, too far from either to be called both and too close to both to be called either. Ryuunosuke smiled at the jumble of words in his head and shifted Suga into a more comfortable position.

 

“Do you know how much I love you?” he whispered. Suga’s face scrunched slightly, then smoothed back into the peacefulness of sleep. Ryuunosuke ghosted a kiss along Suga’s forehead and sighed.

 

“Almost as much as I love you,” came a half-slurred whisper, so faint that Ryuunosuke was almost certain he didn’t actually hear it. Suga shifted slightly, snuggling closer and wrapping an arm around Ryuunosuke’s waist.

 

“That’s impossible,” Ryuunosuke whispered. “I love you more than anyone in the world loves anyone else in the world.”

 

“I still love you more than that.” It was hard to tell in a whisper, but Ryuunosuke thought Suga’s voice sounded more stubborn than before. He smiled, pressing his face into Suga’s hair as though to hide it from the world. “I love you the most,” Suga yawned, “and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

 

“Oh yeah?” whispered Ryuunosuke.

 

“Yeah,” whispered Suga. Ryuunosuke squeezed Suga tight, too full of love to process the surplus of emotion swirling within him. Then in one quick move he flipped them over so that he was on his hands and knees above Suga, staring down at his startled face.

 

“I think you may be mistaken about that,” Ryuunosuke whispered. He leaned up on his knees and brought his hands to rest gently on Suga’s sides. Suga’s eyes went wide.

 

“Ryuu, no, don’t-” He dissolved into peals of laughter as Ryuunosuke wriggled his fingers against his sides, poking at all the ticklish spots there. Suga kicked out viciously, trying to dislodge Ryuunosuke, but his protests were weakened by his laughter. Ryuunosuke worked his way up to Suga’s under arms, listening to the way Suga squealed and giggled with a smile on his face. He relented only when tears started to spill from Suga’s eyes, leaning down to kiss them away as gently as he could. Suga giggled once or twice more, then wrapped his arms around Ryuunosuke’s neck and pulled him down on top of him.

 

“I love you,” Ryuunosuke whispered, pressing a kiss to the shell of Suga’s ear.

 

“I love you too, Ryuu,” Suga said with a contented sigh. Ryuunosuke closed his eyes and snuggled into a better position on top of Suga, then yawned. He let himself drift off to sleep, real sleep this time, safe in the assurance that Suga would still be there when he woke.


	39. Things You Said at the Top of Your Lungs

“Super Magic Fun Time Land!” shouted Hinata as soon as they piled into the van.

 

“Super Magic Fun Time Land!” shouted Yuu.

 

“Super Magic Fun Time Land!” shouted Yuu, Hinata, and Nariko all together. Yuu could see Suga laughing in the front seat while Daichi turned around to glare at them all.

 

“If one more person shouts back there, I will personally ensure you never see the inside of that park. Do you understand me?”

 

“Super Magic Fun Time Land,” whispered Yuu. Daichi’s eyes crinkled around the edges like he was trying not to smile, and he turned back around suspiciously quickly.

 

The drive to the park was every bit as rambunctious as Yuu had expected, and long. By the end of it, he was almost hoarse with laughing and his cheeks hurt with smiling and making Nariko smile. They pulled into a parking lot at last and Yuu piled out with the others. He took Nariko’s hand while Hinata took the other, and together they set off toward the gate.

 

“Okay,” Suga called. “What do we want to go on first?” Tanaka pointed at the roller coaster near the entrance, towering so high Yuu was sure there were clouds caught on its peak. “Oh, you are so on,” Suga said.

 

“Nari-chan, do you want to go on the train with me?” Hinata asked. Yuu looked down to find Nariko looking at the roller coaster nervously. “I’m a bit scared of the roller coaster,” Hinata said conspiratorially.

 

“I’m glad you said something, Shouyou,” Yuu said. “I was a bit scared, too.”

 

“I’ll go with you, Papas,” Nariko said sweetly. Yuu could read the relief on her face like a book.

 

“Okay, let’s go then,” he said. Hinata ran off to tell the others where they were going, and they all set off together toward the kiddy train station on the other side of the walkway.

 

The day was long and filled with fun and adventure, and by the time it was over Yuu was glad to see the sun going down. He rode on the ferris wheel next to Nariko with Hinata sitting across from him, all three of them exhausted. As they reached the top of the world, Hinata sighed.

 

“We’re only going to get so many days like this,” he said softly. “She’s growing up so fast.”

 

“We’ve still got plenty of time, Shouyou,” Yuu said softly. “You have to enjoy what you have now, and not worry about when you’re going to lose it.” Hinata nodded and climbed out of his seat, kneeling in front of Yuu. He took Yuu’s hand in both of his own and brought it to his lips.

 

“I love you,” he whispered.

 

“I love you too,” Yuu whispered back.

 

“I LOVE YOU TOO, PAPA,” shouted Nariko. Yuu smiled.

 

“I love Nari-chan!” he yelled. Shouyou beamed, and it seemed the sun hadn’t gone down after all. The ride came to an end, and Yuu hefted Nariko onto his shoulders, walking toward the park exit where the rest of their family was waiting for them.


	40. Things You Interrupted Me to Say

“That was such a lovely ceremony, Chikara,” said his aunt, sipping luxuriously from a champagne flute. “It’s so nice to see you finally settled down.”

 

“Yes, and so many of your little friends came to see it,” his mother added. “It’s so nice to know you’ve got such support. But when are you going to move out? You can’t start your married life with so many roommates, after all.”

 

“Oh, I know the cutest little house,” said his aunt. “It would be perfect for a little family of three.”

 

And that was when Chikara knew. All the scheming, all the plotting and the choosing and the careful preparations, all the ceremony and legal paperwork and pandering to a society that would never accept him, all of it was for nothing. Chikara would never be free of his family’s expectations, would never be free to live his life.

 

“Oh, and we could take little Hikota out shopping and-”

 

“Mother.” It was out before he had realized he was going to speak. She looked at him, surprised at being interrupted, but unsuspecting otherwise. He could turn her whole world upside down if he wanted.

 

“What is it, dear?” she asked. He looked around at the party, at the loves of his life scattered around the crowd, mingling and pretending, all for him. He made his decision at last.

 

“They aren’t my roommates,” he mumbled.

 

“They aren’t what? Speak up dear.” He took a deep breath.

 

“They aren’t my roommates, Mother,” he said more clearly. “They’re my lovers. All of them. We’re all in a relationship with each other.”

 

She stared at him for a moment, then chuckled uncomfortably. “I’m afraid I don’t really understand the joke, dear,” she said.

 

“It’s not a joke,” he replied. “I’m bisexual, and I have thirteen lovers. I am exactly the kind of person you always warned me about, and so is Hitoka, and so are all of the others. They’re my family. We aren’t sure who Nariko’s biological father is, and we don’t want to find out. She belongs to all of us.” She blinked at him.

 

“I don’t understand,” she whispered.

 

“I can’t make it any more clear than that,” he said. “I’m sorry if this disappoints you, but it’s who I am. I’m tired of lying to you.”

 

He turned and left her there with his aunt, both of them staring at him, and went to go find one of his lovers. He ran into Kinoshita first.

 

“Hey, Chika, what’s-” Chikara cut him off with a deep kiss, relieved that he could do so in public. A gasp went up around the assembled party, but Chikara simply kissed Kinoshita deeper, tangling his fingers in Kinoshita’s hair. Kinoshita kissed him back for a heartbeat, then pulled away. “What’s going on?” he asked, but he didn’t let go of where he had his fingers tangled in Chikara’s suit jacket.

 

“I just came out to my mother and aunt,” Chikara said. “I figured I’d come out to everyone else as well.” Kinoshita smiled, reaching up to stroke Chikara’s cheek.

 

“I’m proud of you,” he said. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see members of his family leaving in outrage, and he smiled.

 

“I am too,” he said. “Now let’s enjoy the rest of the party.”

 

So they did.


End file.
